Cocoa Uses 2020 Season As Motivation

After winning 10 straight games in the pandemic-altered 2020 season, it’s the 45-15 playoff setback in the final game of the season that will stick with Cocoa in the coming months. Despite rolling over some quality competition – such as Palm Bay Heritage (49-0), Palm Bay (56-0), Melbourne (46-0), Palm Bay Bayside (53-8), Viera (36-10), state-rated 5A Eau Gallie (27-13), rival Rockledge (45-34) and Satellite (41-7) in the regular season – and Hudson (62-0) and Tampa Catholic (44-8) in the playoffs, the sting of that home loss to Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons is something that truly altered the way the Tigers are approaching 2021. What the eventual 4A state champion Chiefs did to Cocoa is beat them up – on both sides of the ball and control the lines of scrimmage. They did that in beating national power St. Thomas Aquinas and Miami Gulliver Prep in the playoffs. As head coach <strong>Ryan Schneider</strong> and his staff dissected that loss, they saw a team that was not complete, and that is what much of this off-season is all about. Trying to put everything together – and prepare for every opponent and not just those you know are part of your schedule. To beat a team like Cardinal Gibbons, the Tigers will need to play four quarters and execute. The talent is there, but when you go up against top-flight competition, you had better be prepared to win the line of scrimmage or go home a loser – no questions asked at all. <strong>STRONG RISING SENIOR CLASS</strong> If this program is going to move beyond that loss and be prepared for the Chiefs or a team like them moving forward, it’s this Class of 2022 that will be looked upon to keep the Tigers at the top. Among those prospects to keep an eye on – includes <strong>Xavier Anderson</strong> (DB, 6-1, 175), <strong>Victor Battle</strong> (OL, 6-0, 272 – 3.0 GPA), <strong>Donte Cook</strong> (WR, 5-8, 155 – 2.8 GPA), <strong>Eumari Dixon </strong>(TE/WR, 6-5, 195 – 2.7 GPA), <strong>Devin Giles</strong> (WR, 5-10 150 – 3.6 GPA), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50190" first="Donovan" last="Giles"]</strong> (WR, 6-4, 180 - 3.91 GPA), <strong>Demargio Grimes</strong> (Athlete, 5-9, 170 – 3.4 GPA) and impressive defensive back <strong>Malik Lewis </strong>(6-0, 180 – 3.2 GPA). In addition, prospects such as <strong>Samaine Newton</strong> (DE, 6-1, 225 – 2.6 GPA), <strong>Timothy Passmore</strong> (DL, 6-4, 280 – 3.2 GPA), <strong>Jmariyae Robinson</strong> (WR, 6-1, 165 – 3.2 GPA), gifted <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50011" first="O.J." last="Ross"]</strong> (Athlete, 5-10, 182 – 3.54 GPA), <strong>Walter Tillman</strong> (OL/DL, 5-9, 257 – 3.88 GPA), <strong>Lanard Toney</strong> (OL, 6-1, 295 – 3.86 GPA) and offensive lineman <strong>Cooper Willis</strong> (6-3, 275 – 3.8 GPA). <strong>UNDERCLASSMEN COMING ALONG</strong> While Coach Schneider and the Tigers have some younger prospects, a number of them will earn their standing and role on this team during the spring. The Cass of 2023, however, does feature some top-flight prospects such as <strong>Caleb Dobbs</strong> (DB, 6-2, 160 – 3.0 GPA), nationally-rated <strong>Cedrick Hawkins</strong> (DB, 6-1, 175) and randgy defensive back <strong>Jordan Holmes</strong> (6-2, 160 – 3.32 GPA). <strong>Y<em>ou Can Contact [player_tooltip player_id="111610" first="Larry" last="Blustein"] with prospect or team information at: Foridakids1@aol.com. We are also on Social Media on @PrepRedzonefl.</em></strong>