Tigers roar into final: Blake Boda, Cocoa deny Bradford in Class 2S football semifinal

STARKE — Even after watching a two-touchdown lead dwindle to zero, Blake Boda never wavered.

"We've been through adversity all year," Cocoa's senior quarterback said. "This was nothing different."

Holding off a furious comeback from Bradford with help from a career game by wide receiver Jayvan Boggs, Cocoa held on to deny the host Tornadoes 31-21 in Friday night's Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2S football semifinal.

Running back Anthony Bridgewater rushed for the clinching touchdown inside the final two minutes and Cocoa forced a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers, sealing a trip to Tallahassee's Gene Cox Stadium for next Friday's state championship against hometown top seed Florida High.

And Boda, Florida's leader in passing yardage, lived up to his billing in a near-flawless outing — 19 of 25 for a pair of scores and 324 passing yards.

For the four-time champions, it's a return trip to the finals, as well as the second consecutive year in which they've knocked out a Northeast Florida school in the final four. Last year, they rallied past Bolles in the Class 4A semifinal.

The defeat ends a memorable first season for the Tornadoes (12-2) under head coach Jamie Rodgers, one in which they limited opponents to 31 points throughout the regular season.

"That's a really good football program and they're used to being here," Rodgers said. "They make deep runs all the time, and you've got to play your best game."

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COCOA STARTS HOT

Cocoa began December as hot as chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Boda, who entered with 3,444 passing yards on the year, led touchdowns on his first two possessions to jump out to a 14-0 lead, a 25-yarder to Boggs and another drive capped by a 3-yard score from Ohio State commit Cedrick Hawkins.

The senior finished the night with his eighth 300-yard game of the season against a depleted Bradford secondary that lost key cover corner Jarrin Alexander to a first-quarter shoulder injury and had junior safety Chalil Cummings sidelined later with a hamstring.

"They're very, very efficient on offense," Rodgers said. "They run it enough to keep you off balance. They've got really good players at all four-wide, five-wide when they get to that personnel... it just puts a lot of pressure on your defensive backs."

And where there were big plays, there was usually Boggs. The sophomore wideout Boggs caught nine passes for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 76-yard burst down the left sideline that pushed Cocoa to a 21-14 edge.

"I never expected it," Boggs said. "I just play, have fun and play hard."

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TIGERS' DEFENSE STUFFS RALLY

Cocoa's defense, which held Bradford to 40 yards in the first half, came up big down the stretch.

After Mao Saito booted Cocoa (10-3) into a 24-21 lead with a 32-yard field goal, Bradford took over with a chance to pull ahead after Willie Pollard's kickoff return to the 38.

But on Bradford's first play, Samadrae Hawkins wrested the ball from Pollard's grasp and recovered at the Tornado 45. That set up a clock-chewing drive that ended with Bridgewater's 2-yard score with 1:55 to play.

Jameer Smith quashed Bradford's last chance with a fourth-down interception inside the last two minutes.

Smith, Loren Ward and DaVarris Robertson tallied sacks to thwart the Tornadoes, who managed only one scoring drive on offense all night.

SPECIAL TEAMS SHINE FOR BRADFORD

For the third time in the postseason, a Jametrius Pringle kickoff return turned the game around — almost enough to bring Bradford all the way back.

Pringle, just as he did last week against Baker County, returned the second-half kickoff 95 yards to the house. That put the Tornadoes on the board after a frustrating first half in which off-target snaps, four in all, derailed their only serious march into Cocoa territory.

Minutes later, special teams struck again. Bradford's Torin Brazell broke through and slapped down a Tigers punt, and after taking a lateral from lineman Trente Jenkins, Brazell bulldozed his way 40 yards to the end zone for a 14-14 tie as fireworks blasted into the Starke sky.

But despite ferocious run defense led by Bryson Bowen and Chason Clark, and an offensive touchdown when Jeremiah McKenzie scored off a 1-yard sneak to bring Bradford back to a 21-21 tie at the 7:45 mark, the Tornadoes fell short in their quest for a first state final since 1985.

"You know, 12-2 is a heck of a way to start it off," Rodgers said. "Now, it's time to build it."

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX, and sign up for the First Coast Varsity newsletter at https://profile.jacksonville.com/newsletters/first-coast-varsity/.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school football playoffs 2022: Cocoa-Bradford, FHSAA state semifinal