WATCH: MaxPreps Ranks Cocoa Tigers Among Most Dominant Football Programs in Florida in Last 10 Years
By Jordan Rocco, Space Coast Daily Associate Editor // May 31, 2019
Cocoa Tigers won three state championships, including 2009, 2010 and 2016
WATCH: To no one’s surprise in Brevard, Cocoa High School has been identified among the top 10 most dominant football programs in Florida over the last 10 years by MaxPreps. (MaxPreps Video)
BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA – To no one’s surprise in Brevard, Cocoa High School has been identified among the top 10 most dominant football programs in Florida over the last 10 years by MaxPreps.
As someone who attended Cocoa High School for six years, and covered the football program for three years, I had the pleasure to witness first-hand this dominant football program as each year they were in contention for a state title.
I’ll never forget seeing the Tigers finally getting past Booker T. Washington and winning the state championship against Bolles 31-17 in 2016. Then, they went onto two straight state championship game appearances.
I also was lucky to witness Cocoa’s shift to an explosive passing offense last season as freshman Diego Arroyo broke the school’s single-season passing yards while firing 29 TD strikes in 2018. Arroyo’s favorite target was speed merchant Willie Gaines, who broke the Tiger single-season receiving yards record with 1,278 in 2018.
Related Story:Perception vs. Reality: Cocoa High School Afforded Me Outstanding Teachers, Opportunities
Over the years I was thrilled by incredible athletes like running back Javian Hawkins, who ran for 1,783 yards and 20 TDs in 2017, and Bruce Judson Jr., a dual-threat quarterback who rushed for 3,893 yards and scored an incredible 60 TDs during his four years at the helm of the Tigers.
John Wilkinson, who was inducted into Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, is without a doubt among the greatest prep football coaches that ever walked the gridiron sidelines in Brevard County.
He excelled at helping and inspiring each of his athletes to reach their potential and achieve their goals while molding the Tigers into one of the best football programs in the nation.
SPACE COAST DAILY TV: John Wilkinson, who was inducted into Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, is without a doubt among the greatest prep football coaches that ever walked the gridiron sidelines in Brevard County. He excelled at helping and inspiring each of his athletes to reach their potential and achieve their goals while molding the Tigers into one of the best football programs in the nation.
Aaron Williams of MaxPreps explains the criteria of MaxPreps’ Top 10 list:
“To help fill the void between now and the opening kickoff of the 2019 season, we’re looking back at the top high school football programs in Florida over the past 10 years,” said Williams.
“Beginning with the 2009 season through 2018, we evaluated finishes in state and national rankings along with state championships and title game appearances to identify the winningest teams in Florida.”
More on the methodology – points awarded for:
- Top 25 finishes in the MaxPreps state computer rankings (25 points awarded to the No. 1 team, 24 for No. 2 and so on).
- Top 25 finishes in the MaxPreps national computer rankings (50 points for No. 1, 49 for No. 2 and so on).
- State championships (20 points)
- State championship game appearances (10)
During the past 10 years, the Cocoa Tigers won three state championships, including 2009, 2010 and 2016. The Tigers also played in the championship game in 2017 and 2018, and from 2009 to 2018, had an incredible record of 112-21.
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