Bradford vs. Cocoa: What you need to know for Class 2S FHSAA high school football final
Bradford (14-0) vs. Cocoa (13-1)
Class 2S football championship
At Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee
8 p.m. Friday
Watch it: Bally Sports Sun and the Bally Sports app.
Road here: Bradford d. Port Orange Atlantic, 42-0; d. Gainesville Eastside, 28-7; d. Baker County, 43-0; d. Pensacola Catholic, 22-21; Cocoa d. Eustis, 45-7; d. Dunnellon 35-0; d. South Sumter, 34-14; d. Sarasota Booker, 41-3.
Past titles: Bradford, 1965, 1966; Cocoa, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2022.
Matchup to watch: Cocoa OL Jaquez Joiner vs. Bradford Edge Torin Brazell.
The skinny: Can the Tornadoes get revenge against the team that ended their 2022 postseason? Bradford's near-impenetrable defense -- until last week against Pensacola Catholic, no opponent had scored more than one touchdown against them -- gets the test of the year against Cocoa. The Tornadoes already know the danger of Cocoa receiver Jayvan Boggs, an Ohio State commit with sky-high numbers (86 catches, 1,445 yards, 23 TD) and a 203-yard night to his credit against Bradford when the Tigers topped the Tornadoes 31-21 in last year's semifinal. Add sophomore QB Brady Hart (3,517 yards, 40 TD), sophomore tailback (1,035 yards, 13 TD) and senior receiver C.J. Bragg (960 yards, 6 TD) and Cocoa's offense is loaded with weapons. And their defense is limiting foes to 9.2 points per game, led by edge rushers Javion Hilson (14 sacks) and Davi'yon Hawkins-Ingram (10.5 sacks) and linebacker Dai'veon Parham (124 tackles, 21 TFL). For Bradford, defense reigns, particularly Torin Brazell and Duke Lewis off the edge, hard-hitting Marshall commit Chason Clark at linebacker and all-around athlete Chalil Cummings in the secondary. Clark and Cummings both contribute as pass-catchers, too, on an underrated but effective offense built around dual-threat quarterback Dae'Jon Shanks.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Bradford-Cocoa: FHSAA high school football championship preview
