BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School is set to play a state semifinal football game for the first time since 2017 and for just the fourth time in 19 years when it hosts Region 3 champion Cocoa in a Class 2S matchup on Friday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m.
Cocoa, which advanced by defeating South Sumter 35-7, is no stranger to the state semifinals, having now advanced for the 16th straight season. The Tigers (9-3) have won four state championships during that span (2008-10 and 2016) and finished as state runner-up three times, including last season in Class 4A.
The Tigers have an overall postseason record of 50-19 and are in the postseason for the 19th straight year.
In its three playoff games this season, Cocoa has outscored opponents 136-16. Conversely, Bradford has outscored opponents 113-17.
The two teams played one similar opponent this season in Dunnellon, with the Tornadoes recording a 44-0 win and the Tigers recording a 52-6 win in the first round of the playoffs.
Cocoa’s three losses during the regular season came against bigger schools in Metro classifications that all qualified for the postseason. The Tigers lost 29-19 to 3M Orlando Jones (a 6A state semifinalist in 2021), 42-14 to 3M St. Thomas Aquinas (the 7A state champion in 2021) and 35-29 to 4M Seminole (an 8A region finalist in 2021).
Of the team’s six regular-season wins, four were against playoff qualifiers that had winning records: 44-3 over 4S Melbourne, 47-0 over 2S Titusville, 35-0 over 2S Palm Bay and 28-20 over 2S Rockledge.
The Tigers opened the playoffs with the win over Dunnellon, followed by a 49-3 win in a rematch against Palm Bay.
In the 35-7 win over South Sumter in the Region 3 final, senior quarterback Blake Boda, who played for Daytona Seabreeze last season, completed 25 of 38 passes for 368 yards and five touchdowns. It was the fifth game in which Boda has thrown five touchdown passes.
Boda has completed 229 of 354 pass attempts this season for 3,444 yards and 45 touchdowns, averaging 287 yards and four touchdowns per game.
The Tigers’ receiving corps is led by junior Ric’Darious “DayDay” Farmer, who has 15 offers from colleges such as Miami, Penn State, Michigan State, Iowa State and Missouri. He has 52 receptions for 793 yards and nine touchdowns.
Senior Cedrick Hawkins, an Ohio State commit at defensive back, has 34 catches for 601 yards and five touchdowns, while sophomore Jayvan Boggs has 30 catches for 499 yards and four touchdowns.
Cocoa has three more players with at least 300 yards in receptions: senior Kyon Calhoun (29 for 375 yards and nine touchdowns), senior Jaden Edgecomb (30 for 374 yards and four touchdowns) and junior C.J. Bragg (20 for 300 yards and six touchdowns).
The Tigers are rushing for 117 yards per game, led by senior Anthony Bridgewater, who has 570 yards and four touchdowns on 79 carries. Sophomore Malachi Coney has 355 yards and three touchdowns on 61 carries.
Defensively, junior linebacker Samadre Hawkins leads the team in tackles with 88. Junior linebacker Dai’veon Parham has 78 tackles.
Linemen Da Varrius Robertson (a junior) and D’Andrevius Dorsey (a senior) lead the team in tackles for loss with 17 and 15, respectively.
Cocoa is scoring an average of 40 points per game, while opponents are scoring an average of 12 points per game.
The Bradford-Cocoa winner will play either Florida High (13-0) or Bishop Verot (10-2) for the state championship on Friday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee.
