The Cocoa Tigers and Eau Gallie Commodores had their FHSAA playoff runs stopped on Friday, as the Tigers lost to a very good Cardinal Gibbons squad, and American Plantation was too much for Eau Gallie. Both games were shown here on Brevard Sports Network.
CARDINAL GIBBONS 45, COCOA 15
Class 4 A State Semifinal
Cardinal Gibbons came in with one loss and they handed the Tigers their first loss of the 2020 campaign.
The Chiefs defense came up big on this night and it started on the first drive. They had a sack of Cocoa quarterback DJ Arroyo and forced a punt that gave them good starting field position. It was the first of six sacks of Arroyo on this night.
A pass interference call helped Cardinal Gibbons and they ended the first drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Kamari Moulton to give the visitors a 7-0 lead.
Nick King finished the next Cocoa drive with a 38-yard field goal. The drive included a superb diving catch by Jmariyae Robinson to set the Tigers up. That made it 7-3 with 3:12 left in the first quarter.
Cardinal Gibbons (7-1) would start with great field position on their next drive and quarterback Brody Palhegyi hit a seven-yard touchdown pass to Elisha Edwards. The Chiefs would add another touchdown on a leaping catch by Troy Stellato in the back of the end zone to give the Chiefs a 21-3 lead with 2:42 left.
Nick King would add a 25-yard field goal, helped by an Arroyo to Donte Cook connection to set up King and close the gap to 21-6 at the half.
Cardinal Gibbons opened the second half with a double-reverse flea-flicker that resulted in a one-play score, giving the visitors a 28-6 lead. Cocoa would get another field goal by King, this one from 42 yards out, but the Tigers’ inability to get into the end zone would prove costly in this one.
Cardinal Gibbons scored on the first play of the third quarter and matched that at the start of the fourth quarter. Palhegyi hit another deep ball, giving the Chiefs a 35-9 lead. Palhegyi would add his fifth touchdown pass of the night with less than nine minutes left, finding Stellato for the second time. A late field goal triggered a running clock for Cardinal Gibbons.
The Tigers got a late touchdown when Arroyo found Davis Mallinger as the clock hit triple zeros. Congratulations to both of those young men as they finished their high school careers on a high note with a final touchdown.
AMERICAN HERITAGE 38, EAU GALLIE 18
Class 5 A Region 3
Brevard County football fans knew the Commodores (7-2) would have theory hands full with an American Plantation team out of Fort Lauderdale. That said, Eau Gallie got on the board first with a two-yard run by TJ Johnson with 7:49 to go in the first quarter. The extra point was blocked, keeping it a 6-0 game.
After a touchdown run by Reggie Foster gave the Patriots a 7-6 lead, Mark Fletcher had runs of 47, and four yards to give American Heritage a 21-6 lead at halftime.
A Blake Murphy touchdown pass was followed by a pick-6 from Boogsie Silvera gave the Patriots all the insurance they needed.
Eau Gallie quarterback Cade Ross had two big passes with about five minutes left in the game. One to Jamari Nelson and the other to Tre Blake who caught a 49-yard pass and raced to the end zone, finishing off the Commodores only touchdown drive of the night.
Blake broke off a big run with about two minutes left and he was slammed to the ground, causing tempers to flare a bit. Order was quickly restored and the Commodores were able to end that drive with a touchdown, as Ross found Kameron Blevins to make it 38-18.
Congratulations to the Commodores who made huge strides in what was a very difficult 2020 high school football season. They got as far as this program has ever been this season and coach Chris Sands, his staff, and his players all deserve to be commended on a great season.
This was the final installment of our Brevard County Football Recap for the 2020 season.