South Sumter has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Cocoa Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only South Sumter walked away with it. They simply couldn't be stopped on Friday as they easily beat the Terriers 44-7 at home. Given South Sumter's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 34th, while Titusville is ranked 106th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Among those leading the charge was Tyrese Keiler, who rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries. Another player making a difference was Ja?kyrian Turner, who rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.
The team's defense also helped out by holding Titusville to a paltry 149 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to South Sumter's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid the passer out six times before it was all said and done. Ty Kadur was especially locked on to Titusville's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, Cocoa had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 35 points), and they went ahead and made it nine on Friday. They didn't even let Dunnellon onto the board and left with a 35-0 win. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as Cocoa just coasted through the last quarter.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Cocoa to victory, but perhaps none more so than Latrison Lane, who rushed for 46 yards and two touchdowns. Cocoa also got help from Jayvan Boggs who showed off his sure hands for 133 receiving yards.
South Sumter's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-1. As for Cocoa, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 11-1.
We should be in store for an exciting game Friday as the pair have no problem gaining yardage. South Sumter has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 397.2 total yards per game. However, it's not like Cocoa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 376.2 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
South Sumter was dealt a bruising 35-7 defeat at the hands of Cocoa when the teams last played back in November of 2022. Thankfully for South Sumter, Blake Boda (who threw for 368 yards and five touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
