It was regional semifinal week for teams in Brevard County on Friday, with Cocoa and Eau Gallie coming away with convincing wins. Unfortunately, the season ended for Rockledge and Viera.
COCOA 44, TAMPA CATHOLIC 8
In the first of two games seen right here on Brevard Sports Network, the Cocoa Tigers traveled to Tampa Catholic to take on the Crusaders and made it look easy, scoring 37 points in the first half alone.
After Tampa stopped the Tigers on their first drive, D.J. Arroyo completed a 62-yard pass to Donovan Giles and that set up a three-yard run by O.J. Ross to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. After a Tampa Catholic punt of 56 yards and a penalty set Cocoa back, Ross took off on a 65-yard jaunt to the end zone, and just like that it was 14-0 after one quarter.
Davis Mallinger scored on the first play of the second quarter, finding the corner on a jet sweep and the Tigers were up 21-0, just seven seconds into the second quarter.
The next Cocoa drive saw Tay Farmer run a handful of times and rack up 51 yards. He finished the drive with a three-yard run. A safety made it 30-0 and the final points of the half came on Giles second touchdown reception of the night, with 15 seconds left and that made it 37-0 at the half and triggered a running clock to start the second half.
Cocoa running back D.J. Grimes scored late in the third quarter to make it 44-0. With the win, the Tigers moved to 10-0 and earned a trip to the state semifinal against Cardinal Gibbons.
EAU GALLIE 54, CYPRESS LAKE 28
Eau Gallie (7-1) used a 21-point first quarter to roll to a convincing win over Cypress Lake.
It took just 44 seconds for Commodores quarterback Cade Ross to find Kameron Blevins from 28 yards out to start the scoring. Jordan Blackmon scored on an eight-yard run, followed by T.J. Johnson’s 25-yard scamper, giving Eau Gallie the 21-0 lead.
The second quarter was more of the same, with Ross throwing two touchdown passes to Tre Blake (30 yards), and Jamari Nelson (nine yards), giving the Commodores a 34-0 lead. Ross would use his feet for the final score of the half, scoring from two yards out to make it 41-8.
Cypress Lake would score twice in the final 1:58 of the half and the two-point conversion cut the lead to 41-21 before the break.
Ross found Blake twice more in the fourth quarter from six and five yards out, capping the scoring.
EDGEWATER 59, VIERA 0
In the second broadcast on BSN, the Viera Hawks ran into a buzzsaw, losing to the Edgewater Eagles by a wide margin. It was a complete game for Edgewater, with the offense and defense clicking on all cylinders. A scoop and score, a safety, and a pick-6 were all part of the winning formula for Edgewater on this night.
Viera had a very successful season, finishing at 5-4. They will be losing a lot of talent with a number of seniors on the 2020 squad. Add to that the handful of transfers they lost prior to the season, and coach Derek Smith got a lot out of these kids.
The talent that is left will be plentiful and should make this team a formidable one for the foreseeable future.
AMERICAN HERITAGE 26, ROCKLEDGE 14
Avery Smith had a pair of two-yard runs for the Raiders in a loss to American Heritage. He scored the first and the finals touchdowns of the game, but American Heritage proved to be a hurdle the Raiders couldn’t clear.
Rockledge finishes the season 7-2.