2A: Cocoa Wins Third Straight

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MIAMI – </strong>It wasn't pretty, but don't tell head coach <strong>Ryan Schneider</strong> and his Cocoa Tigers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taking advantage of a solid running game in the second half, Cocoa (11-3) came away with a 38-27 win against Havana Gadsden County (13-2) in the 2A state title game at Pitbull Stadium.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was the Tigers third straight state title and seventh all time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“All season this time failed to quit,” said Schneider. “This was a good team we lined up against and they never quit. That shows how much these young men wanted this.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers got on board first with 8:16 left in the opening quarter when Texas A&amp;M commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1573238' first='Brady' last='Hart']</strong> hit FSU commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='953682' first='Jayvan' last='Boggs']</strong> for a 7-0 lead. Boggs fell 28 yards short of the state single season record for receiving yards. He finished the year with 99 catches for 2,132 yards and 21 touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jaguars tied things up when junior running back <strong>Kemarrion Battles</strong> took it in with 3:36 left in the opening quarter from 11 yards out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers ended the scoring in the first quarter when junior <strong>Latrison Lane</strong> took it in from the six with 1:06 left. Lane would have a tremendous second half that paved the way for the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gadsden County cut the lead to 14-9 when the Tigers snapped the ball out of the endzone with 8:36 left in the first half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SECOND HALF</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jaguars took their first lead of the game with 6:07 left in the third quarter when Battles took it in from the three and a 15-14 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cocoa came right back and regained the lead with 1:39 left in the quarter when kicker <a><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1132760' first='Marcus' last='Trout']</strong> </a>booted a 21-yard field and a 17-15 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fourth quarter belonged to Lane as he put the Tigers up 24-15 with 10:31 remaining.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gadsden County would not go away as junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1581853' first='Daylen' last='Green']</strong> took a pass from sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672994' first='Landon' last='Dougherty']</strong> from 55 yards, cutting the lead to 24-21 with 9:03, but the Tigers marched back down to extend the lead back to 10 (31-21) when Hart ran it in from the 2 with 5:17 left.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jaguars wouldn't quit, matching down with 3:28 left when senior <strong>Christian Barrett took </strong>a Dougherty pass from 30 yards out, cutting the lead back to 31-27. That's when Lane put the finishing touches on the victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With 2:15 left, he took off on a 42-yard run, putting the game away.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BY THE NUMBERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cocoa finished with 21 first downs to 18 for the Jaguars. The Tigers had 168 yards on the ground and the Jaguars finished with 100.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gadsden County had 259 yards through the air and the Tigers ended with 185.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lane had 80 yards and on the ground with three scores and Hart finished with 67. Battles led all rushers with 100 – while <strong>Tristen Davis</strong> had 59.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hart was 22 of 31 for 259 yards. Dougherty ended the game with 13 completions in 22 attempts for 185 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Darrick Hardison</strong> caught seven balls for 52 yards and Boggs had six catches for 112 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, <strong>Nycere Jacobs</strong> led the way with 16 tackles and D.J. Bryant (7 tackles) for Cocoa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Green finished with nine tackles and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1684048' first='Jeremiah' last='Thomas']</strong> registered five.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Statewide Coverage Daily.</strong> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/florida/">https://prepredzone.com/florida/</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>You Can Contact Larry Blustein with prospect or team information at:</strong> Floridakids1@aol.com.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COACHES, PLAYERS: Do You Have A Subscription? Contact us for a savings code so you can see what everyone has been talking about! </strong><a href="mailto:Floridakids1@aol.com">Floridakids1@aol.com</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two-time defending state champion Cocoa defends title against potent Gadsden County. <a>https://prepredzone.com/2024/12/2a-cocoa-defends-title-against-gadsden-county/</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->