Tigers x 5: Cocoa wins 5th state football championship
TALLAHASSEE Last season, Cocoa’s football season concluded with heartbreak as it lost in the FHSAA Class 4A state championship.
But this year, the book ended a little differently, and the Tigers (11-3) outlasted the Florida High Seminoles (14-1) in the Class 2S championship game, 38-31 in overtime.
“Our guys handled adversity the entire night,” Cocoa head coach Ryan Schneider said. “We always want to play the best and take pride in playing the best teams we can.”
The game took some extra time after Seminoles quarterback Jeremy Johnston completed a 15-yard pass to running back Rhyder Poppell for the game-tying touchdown with three seconds in regulation.
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“I give (Florida High) all the credit,” Schneider said. “When they scored, our team didn’t flip out, because we face adversity all the time. I told them to keep playing the next play and we’re good to go.”
After Cocoa scored on its first drive of overtime, a Florida High fumbled handoff recovered by Dai'vion Parham for the Tigers snapped the Seminoles’ perfect season and state title hopes.
It was Cocoa's first state championship since 2016 and the fifth overall. It was also the first for Schneider, who had led the Tigers to two previous finals, most recently a year ago. Cocoa also won state football in 2008, '09 and '10.
Quarterback Blake Boda scored the game winner in overtime, a 5-yard rushing touchdown, one of his four scoring plays on the night.
“We stayed calm,” Boda said. “Coach had trust in me, and I didn’t want to let my boys down. You got to line up and finish the game, and that’s what we did.”
Boda finished completing 23 of 35 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns, two passing and two rushing.
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Trailing 14-10 at the half, the Tigers erased the deficit on a 7-yard run for Boda's first score on the ground.
The Tigers defensive unit also helped by intercepting Johnston twice, one by Joshua Brown early in the second quarter and another by Caleb Dobbs, who returned his interception 50 yards for a score in the third quarter.
That return gave Cocoa a 31-21 lead — its largest — in the middle of the third. DayDay Farmer, who led all receivers with 11 catches for 145 yards, caught another Boda touchdown toss, that one for 29 yards in the first minute of the final period.
The Tigers faced an uphill battle playing in the Seminoles’ backyard at Tallahassee’s Gene Cox Stadium, but that didn’t deter them from securing their ninth straight win.
“It feels great to have this medal around my neck,” Boda said. “We all worked our tails off, pushed each other and created an inseparable bond. I wouldn’t want my senior season to end any other way."
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Cocoa's first touchdown came on a Boda pass to C.J. Bragg, 23 yards to the end zone in the second quarter.
Schneider got over the hump and brought a state championship to Cocoa in his fifth season as head coach. The Tigers previously lost in 2018 and 2021 during his tenure.
“I love the city of Cocoa, these kids, and these coaches,” Schneider said. “I’m just so proud for a great school in a great city. I’m proud to be a Tiger.”
Gerald Thomas III covers FAMU athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Cocoa defeats Florida High in Class 2S state football championship
