Cocoa defeats Bradford to advance to Class 2A state semifinals

Cocoa defeated Bradford in Starke to win the Region 2-2A final. The Tigers will advance to the Class 2A state semifinals on Friday, Dec. 5.

Cocoa 17, Bradford 10

Zaylan Chapple scored a game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter to push Cocoa (8-4) to a win on the road against Bradford (11-2) in the Region 2-2A final.

With the score tied at 10-10 with less than a minute left in the game, Chapple ran 8 yards for a touchdown to put Cocoa ahead and help the Tigers win their 19th consecutive regional title.

Cocoa scored first in the game after Javeon Scott scored on a 9-yard run early in the opening quarter. Kicker Keelan Gonzalez made a 27-yard field goal late in the first quarter to a give the Tigers' a 10-0 lead at halftime.

After a scoreless second quarter, Iyen Addison scored Bradford's first points of the game after he ran 5 yards for a touchdown to score the only points on the third quarter. Bradford kicker Tyler Sapp tied the score after he made a 31-yard field goal with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Florida football final four pairings, who will play in FHSAA semifinals

Bishop Moore 31, Eau Gallie 28

ORLANDO — Eau Gallie's dramatic fourth quarter comeback attempt, which included a recovered onside kick and a tipped pass for a touchdown, fell short in the Region 2–3A championship game.

Bishop Moore got three touchdown runs from senior Amar'e Johnson and held on to beat Eau Gallie 31-28 on Nov. 28.

Eau Gallie (9-4) was hoping for a second consecutive state semifinals appearance, but Bishop Moore was able to avenge its 26-24 loss to the Commodores in last year's regional final.

"It sucks. They played a great game and we made a ton of mistakes," Commodores coach Chris Sands said. "I felt like we fought to the end, that's all I can ask about our kids. But at the end of the day they took it to us."

Bishop Moore (12-1) jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead behind a 68-yard touchdown run by Johnson and a field goal following an Eau Gallie fumble.

Johnson, who added a pair of touchdown runs in the second half, broke Bishop Moore's single season rushing record and topped the 2,000-yard mark for his career against Eau Gallie.

"He's a great leader for us and he literally is a running back," Bishop Moore coach Matt Hedrick said of Johnson, a Missouri State commit. "He may not be the fastest, he may not be the biggest, he's not going to be the most imposing, but his ability to actually navigate through an offensive line and understand what defenses are trying to do, he's as good as I've seen in a really long time."

Eau Gallie cut the lead to 10 six before halftime after a two-yard touchdown run by Oregon commit Xavier Lherisse.

Lherisse finished the game with four total touchdowns, three passing and one rushing. Lukas Viselli caught a pair of touchdown passes and TJ Monroe caught one.

The Commodores briefly took the lead in the third quarter after Lherisse's touchdown pass to Monroe, but Bishop Moore responded with a touchdown less than a minute later.

Bishop Moore extended its lead to 31-14 after a 77-yard touchdown catch by Illinois commit Kenyon Alston and a 48-yard score by Johnson.

But Eau Gallie continued to fight. Lherisse found Viselli for a short touchdown pass. Then, following a recovered onside kick, Viselli caught a touchdown pass after it was tipped by a Bishop Moore defender.

Unfortunately, Eau Gallie was unable to stop Bishop Moore from running out the clock after that.

"That's us," Sands said. "We fought all year. We fought adversity all year. The one thing about this team is we've always had grit. So it doesn't surprise me that we put ourselves in a situation to get the win. Again, they made more plays than us."

— Jon Santucci

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard County high school football roundup for Nov. 28, 2025