WATCH REPLAY! Cocoa to Host Eau Gallie in Battle Between Brevard County’s Best Teams on Friday

By Zane Garcia, Space Coast Daily // September 20, 2025

Cocoa won the last two meetings

On Friday, September 19, from Dick Blake Stadium, Terry Spain and Zane Garcia will be on the call for the Cocoa vs Eau Gallie game. This matchup is between Brevard County’s top two teams and Live coverage will begin shortly before the 7 p.m. kickoff time on the Space Coast Daily Facebook and YouTube pages.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – On Friday, September 19, from Dick Blake Stadium, Terry Spain and Zane Garcia will be on the call for the Cocoa vs Eau Gallie game.

This matchup is between Brevard County’s top two teams and Live coverage will begin shortly before the 7 p.m. kickoff time on the Space Coast Daily Facebook and Youtube pages.

This is the 31st season of high school football coverage for the principals of Space Coast Daily and the Friday Night Locker Room – brought to you by Erdman Automotive, Health First, 4Ever Young of Merritt Island, and All Points.

Recent Matchup History:

These two have only faced each other twice over the past five seasons, with Cocoa winning both of the meetings. In 2020, Cocoa won it 27-13, and in 2023, they won 28-7, but the Commodores have reason to believe they can win it this year and end Cocoa’s in-county win streak.

Cocoa has won 28 straight against Brevard County teams, a win streak that dates all the way back to 2019 when they lost the annual BBQ Bowl against Rockledge 24-17.

Eau Gallie went 12-2 a season ago, which marked their best season in program history.

Through four weeks of the prep football season, Cocoa and Eau Gallie both sit at 2-2. They have both played Vero Beach and Heritage.

Eau Gallie lost to Vero Beach week 1, 41-31, and beat Heritage week 3, 16-12. Cocoa lost to Vero Beach Week 3, 38-3, but beat Heritage in Week 4, 37-0.

Cocoa has an almost entirely new offense and has had some struggles, but looked to have found its footing a week ago against Heritage. They have many players who will get touches; Tank White, O’Kece Battle, and Zaylan Chapple are the leading featured players.

Eau Gallie is still trying to adjust its offense after losing its starting quarterback, Joseph Allen, for the season due to injury. In his place, it’s been all-around athlete, Xavier L,herisse taking the snaps at quarterback. While he is not a quarterback and the play-calling has been primarily runs, the Commodores have started to air it out more.

KEYS TO VICTORY

COCOA TIGERS

■ Score quickly and early – the offense needs to gain momentum fast so the Commodores’ defense cannot settle into the game.

■ Shutdown Xavier Lherisse and X’Zavier Corbin – The two X’s for Eau Gallie have been the biggest threats to defenses this season, and it will be vital to slow them down.

■ Make Eau Gallie throw the ball – It’s no surprise that Eau Gallie will be running the ball a lot, and if Cocoa can stop them from running or force them into third and long, they will have no choice but to put the ball in the air.

EAU GALLIE COMMODORES

■ Get the running game going early – Eau Gallie is now a run-heavy team and will lean on multiple guys to run the ball.

■ Complete some passes downfield – If Eau Gallie stays one-dimensional, they could struggle to move the ball against a stymying Tigers defense.

■ Force Cocoa to be one-dimensional – Cocoa is a pass-heavy team, using screens and swing passes as an extension of the running game. Eau Gallie will need to force Cocoa to conventionally run the ball more than they would like.

Space Coast Daily-Friday Night Locker Room Brevard High School Football Week 5 Rankings

Week 4 of the prep football season in Brevard County saw some close finishes and blowouts. Cocoa got back on track, Titusville won impressively, and Eau Gallie fell in the last minute of the game.

The Space Coast Daily weekly rankings are based on a team’s performance and strength of schedule.

No. 1 – Cocoa Tigers (2-2)

After losing back-to-back, the Tigers were at risk of losing three in a row, which has not happened for the Tigers in over two decades. Not so fast, the game between Cocoa and Heritage was moved to Cocoa from Heritage due to field issues, and Cocoa found its stride in a big way, pitching a shutout, winning 37-0. Cocoa will now host Eau Gallie in what is shaping up to be a fantastic matchup with two heavyweights.

No. 2 – Eau Gallie Commodores (2-2)

Eau Gallie came into the game against The First Academy as major underdogs as they faced one of the top teams in the nation. The Commodores defense stepped up in a massive way, holding the Royals stellar offense to just 12 points, but with their star quarterback Joseph Allen out for the se,ason the offensive struggles continued for Eau Gallie. The Royals were able to answer the call when it mattered scoring with just over a minute left in the game and holding on to win 12-8.

No. 3 – Merritt Island Mustangs (2-2)

Merritt Island is just 14 points from being a perfect 4-0 on the season, and they have proven themselves now to be one of the best teams in the county. They hosted the Palm Bay and dominated from the start, finishing the Pirates off, winning 39-8, and improving to 2-2 on the season. The Mustangs will face a couple of out-of-county foes before facing two district teams in Titusville and Eau Gallie.

No. 4 – Titusville Terriers (2-2)

The Terriers came off a tough road loss against West Orange, but bounced back against a talented Viera team. Viera had just taken care of Astronaut and was looking to sweep both Titusville teams. Titusville has started to find its footing in year one under Matt Diesel, as it seems to pick up another big win against Spruce Creek this coming Friday. Titusville will see Eau Gallie in two weeks, marking a massive district bout for both sides.

No. 5 – Melbourne Bulldogs (3-1)

Melbourne, after the loss at Merritt Island, has won two in a row, with the last one being a dominating performance over Palm Beach Christian, 67-0. The Bulldogs will now head to Palm Bay, which used to be an old rivalry game. With the chance to be at 4-1 heading into the Osceola game, the Bulldogs are not slowing down anytime soon. Melbourne, like some other schools, has a first-year head coach in Jeff Pannucci, who has done an excellent job thus far.

No. 6 – Heritage Panthers (1-3)

Although the Panthers have lost three in a row now, they still have plenty of talent to go around. They nearly upset Seminole and Eau Gallie and ran into a frustrated Cocoa team at Tiger Stadium. Heritage’s slate will not get any easier, though; they will host Woodford County (the No. 20 team in Kentucky), then travel to South Fork and Westwood. Heritage will need to get some momentum going on offense if it wants a chance at a playoff run.

No. 7 – Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers’ (1-2)

MCC dropped a tough home loss to St. Andrew’s, but this past week was going to be even tougher, and it was. Heading to Sarasota, they saw a daunting task against Riverview and had a rough outing. The Hustlers are trying to build off an 8-3 season one year ago, but will now see how the team can respond as they will host an elite Bishop Moore squad. MCC has plenty of talent throughout the team and is hoping to pull off the upset this Friday.

No. 8 – Viera Hawks (2-2)

The Hawks have now created a pattern of alternating wins and losses, and the schedule reflects this. After beating an Astronaut 40-14, this Viera team had a lot of confidence going to Titusville. However, the Terriers had other plans and slowed down the Hawks’ offense from gaining any traction throughout this one. This game against the Terriers was just the second of five straight road games for them. With Viera not seeing their home field until the middle of October, they will need some big performances.

WEEK 4 SCORES AND REPLAYS

Week 4 is usually the time that teams start to settle in and find their rhythm. Some teams were able to find their rhythm this week; some were not. The finishes this week have created some exciting matchups in Week 5.

The First Academy 12 – Eau Gallie 8: WATCH REPLAY HERE

A game that The First Academy was probably favored by a couple touchdowns turned into a scrappy late fourth-quarter game. Eau Gallie, still without Joseph Allen, has had trouble moving the ball through the air, but found ways to do it with all-around athlete, Xavier Lherisse. The defense for the Commodores forced five turnovers, but was not able to capitalize, resulting in the close loss.

Merritt Island 39 – Palm Bay 8: WATCH REPLAY HERE

Merritt Island has looked very good thus far with their two loss coming to Cocoa and DeLand by a combined 12 points. They dominated Melbourne and now Palm Bay, the Mustangs will have another out-of-county foe to face in St. Cloud. Palm Bay was coming off some momentum wins, but Merritt Island shut them down, even through the bad weather.

Cocoa 37 – Heritage 0

Cocoa, coming off a forgettable game against Vero Beach, needed a “get back on track” game, and they did so. Heritage gave Seminole and Eau Gallie a run for their money, almost upsetting both. However, the Panthers were shut out this week as the Tigers took out their frustrations from a week ago. Cocoa will now get prepared as they invite Eau Gallie to Tiger Stadium, which should be a great game.

Astronaut 24 – Space Coast 6

Astronaut came into this one after a loss, and the Vipers had been riding high with an undefeated record so far. A rematch from a fantastic game a year ago was this time dominated by the War Eagles. Astronaut moves to 3-1 on the season and will have another tough game as they face Holy Trinity next week.

Melbourne 67 – Palm Beach Christian 0

The scoreboard speaks for itself in this game; it was all Bulldogs from start to finish. This game moves them to 3-1 on the season, they will face Palm Bay next week and then another big test comes in Osceola. This performance proves Melbourne takes care of the games they should win and does not let less competitive opponents hang around.

Titusville 28 – Viera 14

After beating the first Titusville team, Astronaut, the Hawks travelled back to T-ville to try and take down the Terriers. Titusville, coming off a loss, was trying to get itself back on the winning side of the score sheet, and it did just that. A great performance, winning by two scores, over a Viera team that has looked well this season.

Holy Trinity 41 – Bayside 0

Holy Trinity has been competitive in every game this season and is almost undefeated. The Tigers took care of business in a game they should have won and will now look ahead to Astronaut, as that should be a more formidable opponent. Bayside will try to regroup as they head to Centennial.

Riverview 45 – MCC 14

Coming off a loss, this week’s game was not going to be any easier, as Riverview (Sarasota) normally has a fine football program. Riverview ran away with this one, and the bus ride home for MCC probably did not feel great. The Hustlers still have plenty of talent, but a demanding schedule is hard to avoid.

Rockledge 47 – Seabreeze 7

Rockledge starting the season 0-3 was in dire need of a victory, the schedule has not been easy, but the Raiders gave themselves in opportunity to win in their first two games. So this win has to feel good, as it is the first official win for John Holmes as the Head Coach for the Raiders.

Satellite 27 – Cocoa Beach 20

The Beach Bowl, no matter who has the better record, can go either way, and this one came down to the end. Going back and forth all game long, it was the Scorpions who outlasted the Minutemen to move to 5-0 in the SSAA division. Cocoa Beach will now travel to St. Edward’s in hopes of getting back on the right track.