Cocoa set to travel to Cardinal Mooney for Class 2A state semifinals

The Cocoa Tigers are set to continue their road trip in the 2025 Class 2A playoffs when they travel to Sarasota to face Cardinal Mooney in the state semifinals on Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m.

Cocoa claimed a place in the state final four after defeating Bradford on the road last week to win their 19th consecutive region final.

Cardinal Mooney enters the state semifinals coming off a win against Lakewood in the Region 3-2A final.

This is the second straight season that the Cougars and Tigers have met in the state semifinals. Cocoa defeated Cardinal Mooney 31-21 in the 2024 state semifinals before going on to win its third consecutive state championship.

The Tigers have a total of seven state titles after winning championships in 2008, '09' '10, '16, '22, '23 and '24.

More on Cocoa's 2025 season

On its journey to yet another state semifinal this year, Cocoa has won six games in-a-row to build an 8-4 record.

Offensively for the Tigers, Champ Smith has 2,159 passing yards and 14 passing touchdowns, Javeon Scott has rushed for 563 yards and seven touchdowns, Tank White has 516 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, and Zaylan Chapple also has seven touchdowns to go along with 422 rushing yards.

Jermaine Waters has a team-high 13 sacks to go along with 52 total tackles and 21 tackles for loss. Kyree Brooks (122, 12 TFL) and O'Kece Battle (98) lead the Tigers in total tackles while Duran Guilford has grabbed a team-high three interceptions this season.

Cardinal Mooney's 2025 season

Cardinal Mooney brings a 12-1 record into the matchup. Since losing their only game of the season on Aug. 29 against Cherry Creek (Colorado), the Cougars have won 11 games in a row.

After scoring four touchdowns in the Cougars' regional final win, running back Connail Jackson pushed his season total to 33 rushing touchdowns and 1,964 rushing yards. Davin Davidson has thrown for 2,134 yards and 21 touchdowns for Cardinal Mooney this season as well.

Elijah Golden leads the Cardinal Mooney defense with 14 sacks and 29 tackles for loss. Vantrez Yarn has tallied six interceptions in 13 games for the Cougars.

When will the 2025 FHSAA Class 2A state final be held?

The winner of this matchup will face the winner of the Jacksonville Bolles/Cardinal Gibbons game in the Class 2A state championship on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

Here's how each teams' playoffs have gone thus far:

Cocoa 2025 playoff wins: vs. Newberry, 42-13; vs. Calvary Christian, 34-33 (OT); vs. Bradford 17-10.

Cardinal Mooney 2025 playoff wins: vs. North Broward Prep, 55-7; vs. Bishop Verot, 51-14; vs. Lakewood, 49-29.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Cocoa set to travel to Cardinal Mooney for Class 2A state semifinals