Both Cocoa and Avon Park have made it this far into the playoffs, but they square off this Friday at 7:30 PM to determine who is worthy to move on. Both teams have excelled on the defensive side of the ball (Cocoa allowing an average of 9.82 points, Avon Park an average of 11).
Cocoa can now show off six landslide victories after its most recent game. It dominated last week, steamrollering Lake Placid 63 - 8. Junior Willie Gaines was especially active in the win, finding the end zone an impressive three times. This sound performance was nothing new for Gaines, who has been a rock for Cocoa in the past six games. Senior Connor Perrine banked an additional two TDs for the team.
As for Avon Park, it kept its home record unblemished after another positive outing on its own turf. It scooted by Lake Highland Prep last week with a score of 34 - 17. One of the main ringleaders for Avon Park was senior Thurlow rocketman Wilkins?, who rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns. The longest score for Wilkins? was a punishing, defense-defying 70-yard dash in the third quarter. This marked the 5th consecutive game in which Wilkins? had 100+ rushing yards. Junior Dah'Quan Braswell offered Avon Park additional support, laying down the law -- and the quarterback -- with three sacks.
Their wins bumped Avon Park to 8-1-0 and Cocoa to 10-1. While both teams are coming off of wins, only one will triumph this week. We'll find out soon enough who that will be.
Playoff bracket for these teams
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