After each having a week off, the Newberry Panthers and the Cocoa Tigers will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Two weeks ago, Newberry made easy work of Trinity Catholic and carried off a 40-16 victory. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three contests by 20 points or more this season.
Meanwhile, Cocoa entered their tilt with Rockledge two weeks ago with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They blew past the Raiders 36-0. The Tigers are also no stranger to big wins: their blowout was the fourth matchup they've won by 20+ points this season.
Newberry better keep an eye on Champ Smith. He was instrumental in Cocoa's win, throwing for 236 yards and one TD while completing 79.2% of his passes, and also rushing for 53 yards on only seven carries. That's the most passing yards Smith has posted since back in August. 88 of Smith's passing yards were hauled in by Axzavious 'Zay' Hawkins, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
The win got Newberry back to even at 5-5. As for Cocoa, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
Newberry took a serious blow against Cocoa in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, falling 40-3. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
