Sports
Columbia Comes to Hawkins. Bring Six Bucks.
Friday night, Manatee hosts Lake City Columbia at Hawkins Stadium. A few other local kickoffs worth leaving the couch for. Tickets are still cheaper than a pizza.
Friday night football is back on the calendar like it never left. You just stopped looking.
Week 7 on the Suncoast is mostly Friday, Oct. 2. The one that matters in Bradenton: Columbia at Manatee, 7:30 p.m. at Joe Kinnan Field at Hawkins Stadium.
Six dollars. Reserved if you're fancy
Manatee's site still lists home tickets at the gate or weekday ticket office: $6 general, $8 reserved. Address is 902 33rd Street Court West. Parking is $5, run by the JROTC. That is not a joke about inflation. That is the actual price of watching a Friday under lights without arguing with a streaming app.
Columbia is coming down from Lake City. Manatee just got out of Sumner with a 30-27 win last week. If you need a reason to leave the driveway, "someone is driving two and a half hours to play us" is a pretty good one.
Other kickoffs if Hawkins is your ex
Same night, per the Herald-Tribune Week 7 slate:
- Clearwater Central Catholic at Cardinal Mooney, 7 p.m.
- Wesley Chapel at Bayshore, 7 p.m.
- Southwest Florida Christian at Out-of-Door Academy, 7 p.m.
- Canterbury at Saint Stephen's, 7 p.m.
- City of Life at The Classical Academy of Sarasota, 7 p.m.
- Wellen Park at Lemon Bay, 7:30 p.m.
- Venice at Raines, 6:30 p.m. (road trip energy)
Thursday appetizer: Hollins at IMG Academy State, 7 p.m.
A bunch of big names are on bye — Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, North Port, Palmetto, Parrish Community, Riverview, Sarasota. So if your favorite team is resting, borrow somebody else's for a night. The bleachers do not check loyalty cards.
The wine note
I am not pairing a Pinot with a marching band. I am saying: leave early, grab something cold for the ride home, and do not text during the coin toss. The lights are free to look at. The tickets are not. Show up anyway.
— Kevin
