Special teams proved to be a major factor when two teams of Brevard County senior all-star football players faced one another at Tom McIntyre Stadium on Dec. 16, 2009.

Each team blocked a punt and turned the play into a touchdown as the North defeated the South, 14-7.
Cocoa linebacker Anthony Joiner, fresh off a Class 2A state championship victory on Saturday, took some advice from a district rival to block a South punt with 7 minutes, 51 seconds remaining.

He recovered the ball in the end zone for the final margin of victory.
"A guy on the outside from Astronaut saw a hole open on the one before, but he hesitated, so he told me to go hard and we'd get it," Joiner said.

"(Melbourne punter Jamie Wallace) actually tried to curl around me, but I was able to get it."
Melbourne Central Catholic's Kevin McCarty blocked one for the South in the first half, and Jameson Carter from Melbourne recovered it in the end zone at 8:46 of the second period.
It tied the score at 7.

"I just dove on top," Carter said. "It was between all their legs, and I just pulled it out. It was a mad scramble."
McCarthy, a defensive star for the Hustlers, shone in the game and said he enjoyed the chance to play with players his team typically doesn't face in Class 1A.

"It's exciting to be able to play against guys from a state championship team, athletes with that potential," McCarthy said. "Being from a Catholic school, we don't often get to play some of these bigger schools."
Both coaches relaxed for the game.

The North's Rodney Torrance -- who has resigned from Space Coast after two seasons there -- allowed Keegan Olsen to attempt a 56-yard field goal in the first period, but it was short.

The North faked a punt in the third but got nowhere.

The South team piled up interceptions. Bayside's Devon Walker and Cliff Roberts each made one, while Florida Air's Dea'jon Hatcher had a pair.

Cocoa Beach's third-year starting quarterback Christian Provancha threw a pair of touchdown passes to help secure a bowl bid for the Minutemen, who shut out upstart Heritage 43-0 on Senior Night at Minutemen Stadium.

The seniors exited to a loud ovation with a 36-0 lead with 11:10 remaining in the third quarter. Moments later, eighth-grade running back Jamaal Eveillard scampered 12 yards for another Cocoa Beach score. That led to a running clock the remainder of the contest.

The victory catapults the Minutemen into a postseason invitational Saturday when they play Tavares in the 2009 Gridiron Challenge Bowl Series in Winter Springs. The event pits Cocoa Beach against the Class 3A Bulldogs (5-5) at 2 p.m.

Cocoa Beach has met Tavares twice, but it was before any of this year's players were born. The Minutemen lost to the Bulldogs 14-0 in 1987 and 13-11 in 1988.

KEY PLAYERS: Provancha made the most of his minutes, passing for 63 yards, including two TD tosses. The 6-foot-6, 201-pound senior established the Cocoa Beach single-season record for TD passes (14) and career marks for yards (2,763) and touchdowns (30).

Carrain Warner's 70-yard kickoff return was Heritage's biggest offensive play of the game, but it was negated by an illegal block. The speedy sophomore also rushed for 45 yards and had two receptions from freshman quarterback Meenyus Miller for 25 yards.

THEY SAID IT: "I've been coaching this game for 21 years and this has been the most unique season I have ever had," Panthers coach Mike Davis said. "I really learned a lot from these kids and I look forward to working with them in the weight room and seeing how this year's experience pays off."

"Well, we'd much rather be in the playoffs, but I appreciate the opportunity we've been given," Cocoa Beach head coach Tony Piccalo said. "We played a lot of first-year players this season due to graduation and I think they responded well and tonight we saw some players who can make an impact, so it's exciting."

WHAT IT MEANS: The winless Panthers concluded a difficult inaugural season competing at the varsity level. Heritage will play as an independent again in 2010 before entering district competition in 2011.

RECORDS: Heritage 0-10; Cocoa Beach 5-5.

BY JOHN M. JANOKAITIS
FOR FLORIDA TODAY

After falling behind 14-0 in early in the first quarter, the Cocoa Beach Minutemen righted the ship, scoring the game's final 23 points to pick up a win against rival Satellite in the annual Beach Bowl in Cocoa Beach on Friday night.

The victory means Cocoa Beach retains the coveted surfboard trophy for the winner for the Beach Bowl battle.

Junior running back Sean Sims led the way for Cocoa Beach by scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a two-yard run with 3:59 remaining in the third quarter. The Cocoa Beach defense was then able to stop Satellite from effectively moving the ball after giving up those two scores. The Minutemen defense pitched a shutout for the final 3.5 quarters.

KEY PLAYERS: Sims was the key for the Cocoa Beach offense in the second half, finishing the game with 103 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Cocoa Beach's R.J. Black made big plays on both sides of the ball for the Minutemen, including a 32-yard touchdown return of a Satellite fumble late in the first quarter.

Satellite's Josh Massanova passed for two touchdowns in a losing cause.

THEY SAID IT: "I'm proud of our defense," Cocoa Beach head coach Tony Piccalo said. "They came out and made some big second half adjustments."

WHAT IT MEANS: The victory for Cocoa Beach gave Piccalo his 27th coaching victory at the school, a new Cocoa Beach football record. The Minutemen will look the finish the year with a win next week at home against Heritage. Satellite faces Colonial at home next week in its final game of the season.

RECORDS: Satellite 3-6 (1-5 in Class 2A, District 3), Cocoa Beach 4-5 (2-4 in Class 2A, District 3).

BY BO BROWN
FOR FLORIDA TODAY

Anthony Joiner's knee no longer aches.

That is even more reason why facing Cocoa High's defense has become painful this season. Second-ranked in Class 2A, Cocoa recorded its third shutout in its last four games Friday night as the Tigers devoured visiting Cocoa Beach 52-0 in a District 3 contest played on a pleasant evening at Cocoa Stadium.

A 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior inside linebacker, Joiner is an integral part of a Tigers' defense that stretched its string of quarters without yielding a touchdown to 18. The last team to earn a touchdown on Cocoa was Merritt Island on Oct. 2. The Mustangs scored in the second quarter of a 24-7 loss.

"We take so much pride over goose eggs," Joiner said. "We have to make our doubters (notice)."

Joiner missed most of Cocoa's 2008 postseason run to the Class 3A state title after severely injuring his left knee in a first-round playoff game against Lake Wales. He skipped spring practice in May, as well. Joiner has recovered enough to where he has received scholarships offers from Indiana, Western Michigan and Louisiana-Lafayette this fall.

His recovery has helped the defense overcome the graduation losses of notables such as linebacker Anthony Session and defensive backs Marquis Dixon and Winfred Strickland. Those absences perhaps stirred up what Joiner called the "doubters."

"I feel we could get better in the secondary a little," he said. "We have younger players there. But we have a great leader there in (safety) E.J. Johnson."

Not to be outdone by the defense, Cocoa's offense showed its big-strike ability against the Minutemen (3-5, 1-4 in district). The Tigers (8-0, 5-0) received a stellar game from senior quarterback Matt Younger, who threw for career-bests of 227 yards and four touchdowns. Younger completed 7-of-11 throws with his first four completions going for touchdowns.

The Tigers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions to end significant resistance early. Cocoa was helped by good field position as its initial four scoring drives were of 29, 19, 49 and 39 yards.

Running back Chevelle Buie, wideout Wesley Allred and running back Frank Berry each scored two touchdowns. Johnson added another on a 39-yard catch off a fortunate deflection in the end zone and 120-pound junior Cody Bell blasted a career-best 54-yard field goal to end a 38-point Tigers' first half.

The Tigers have surrendered 34 points this season and only one foe, Bayside, has scored more than once in a game. Cocoa rallied to beat Bayside 15-14 in September.

Cocoa coach John Wilkinson, whose team can secure a district title by winning next week at rival Rockledge (5-3), could not say which of his last two defenses was superior.

"I wouldn't say (2009's) is better," Wilkinson said. "Last year, they were state champions. Overall, we're quicker (this year). One through 11, we're faster."

Cocoa won the yardage battle, 399-116. The Minutemen, who host Satellite next week, were held to six first downs and never crossed Cocoa's 45.

BY MIKE CHERRY
FLORIDA TODAY

ROCKLEDGE -- The Rockledge High Raiders made the big plays when they needed them Friday night.

And that's how they rallied from a 13-point deficit to escape with a 21-15 victory over visiting Cocoa Beach, which had the ball inside the Rockledge 30-yard line twice in the final 2:30 of the Class 2A, District 3 contest.

"This team, I'm proud of them," Rockledge coach Larry Laskowski said. "And that Cocoa Beach team, I have the utmost respect for that staff and for those kids. They fought us tooth and nail. This was a great football game."

Cocoa Beach (3-4, 1-3) dominated the Raiders (3-3, 3-1) in the first half. The Minutemen took a 7-0 lead on quarterback Christian Provancha's 2-yard run, which was set up by a Mike Green fumble recovery at the Rockledge 11 yard line.

Provancha would then hit Luke Williams for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 13-0. When Rockledge put together a two-play drive to score on a Doug Goins 18-yard run, the Minutemen answered with a safety to go up 15-7.

Not only was Cocoa Beach's defense playing well, but Minutemen punter R.J. Black kept the Raiders pinned down with directional kicks. Of the Raiders seven first-half possessions, five of them started inside their own 12 yard line.

That streak, however, ended before halftime even ended. The Minutemen were penalized 15 yards for not returning to the field on time and Rockledge struck quickly. A 5-yard run by Ralph Williams made it a 15-14 game and then sophomore quarterback Jaryd Clark -- filling in for an injured Goins -- hit Justin Cox for a 20-yard touchdown pass to put the Raiders ahead.

"At halftime, coach was telling us it was going to be a dogfight and certain people were going to have to step up because Cocoa Beach is a really aggressive defense," Williams said. "I think we kind of overlooked them in the first half. We made some adjustments and came out with the win."

But not without having to hold off two late Cocoa Beach drives.

"My team played four quarters of football and we had our opportunities to win it," Minutemen coach Tony Piccalo said. "What a great learning experience for our team, to know that physically we can stand up to a great program like Rockledge."

BY CARL KOTALA
FOR FLORIDA TODAY

Cocoa Beach running back Sean Sims stole the show on Eau Gallie's homecoming night, racking up 276 yards to lead the Minutemen to a 37-22 victory.

Sims opened the scoring with a 28-yard touchdown run, capping an 80-yard drive to put Cocoa Beach in front 6-0. After an Eau Gallie turnover, the Minutemen marched 58 yards for another touchdown, this time by Christian Provancha on a 2-yard sneak.

On the ensuing kickoff, Eau Gallie's Sidney Poitier returned the kick 72 yards for a touchdown, but it was negated by a penalty. The Commodores had a short field to work with, though, and punched it in on Cameron Lewis' 1-yard run, cutting the lead to 12-7.

The second quarter was all Cocoa Beach, as it outscored Eau Gallie 25-0.Sims opened the quarter with a 41-yard touchdown run, and Provancha added two touchdown passes. Cocoa Beach outgained Eau Gallie 375-40 in the half.

Eau Gallie rallied in the second half with 15 unanswered points, but did not have enough time to complete the comeback. Lewis accounted for two touchdowns -- one rushing, one passing -- in the final two quarters.

KEY PLAYERS: Cocoa Beach running back Sean Sims racked up 208 rushing yards and two touchdowns, along with 68 receiving yards. Minutemen quarterback Christian Provancha had 170 passing yards and three TDs.

Cameron Lewis led Eau Gallie with 231 total yards and three touchdowns.

THEY SAID IT: "The key for us was to establish the run early; that allowed us to control the game," Cocoa Beach coach Tony Piccalo said. "We were able to open up the passing game because of the strength of our running game.

"The second half was my fault, but Eau Gallie did a great job of coming out strong and taking advantage. We lost our focus a bit at halftime, and that goes on me."

WHAT IT MEANS: Cocoa Beach has alternated losses and wins but hopes to carry the momentum into next week's showdown at Rockledge.

Eau Gallie has dropped four consecutive  games. It has a bye coming up before its Oct. 23 game at Jensen Beach.

RECORDS: Cocoa Beach 3-3, Eau Gallie 1-5.

BY TYLER STOVER
FOR FLORIDA TODAY

That, Penn State, is how you get revenge. That, Florida Gators, is how you make a statement.

A year after a one-point upset loss at the hands of Cocoa Beach, Astronaut High's football team went on the road to face the Minutemen and came away with a 56-6 victory on Friday night.

The War Eagles came out with smothering pressure on Beach quarterback Christian Provancha and then ran over the Minutemen (2-3, 1-2 in Class 2A, District 3) with a quick-strike running game.

By halftime -- and the second half consisted of two 10-minute periods with a running clock -- Michael Smith, Josh Rivers and Darious Cummings each had a pair of rushing touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the home team had 30 yards and two fumbled kickoff returns that had little effect on the outcome but added plenty to the War Eagles' numbers.

Unlike Penn State, which lost to Iowa a week ago despite seeking revenge for the 2008 loss that knocked it out of national championship contention, Astronaut (4-1, 1-0) got its revenge.

Unlike Florida, which went into a home game with Tennessee planning to slap the Vols for offseason comments by its coach but only won by 10, the War Eagles made their statement.

"We talked about it a lot," Rivers said of Astronaut's preparation for the game. "We had them 19-0 at halftime (in 2008), and they came back and made their season."

The 20-19 home defeat ended Astronaut's nine-year playoff streak and was Cocoa Beach's first win over the War Eagles in a decade.

On this night, Rivers struck early with a 58-yard scoring run at 3:06 of the first to make it 14-0. He added a 71-yard run in the second period to push the advantage to 42 points.

But it might have been a 27-yard run by Smith that broke the most ankles. He started left, juked twice to shake defenders and finished up running right to the corner of the south end zone.

In the spirit of unselfishness that War Eagles coach Randy Hallock has preached after last year's 6-4 season, Smith credited everybody but himself.

"I got past the linebackers because the offensive line had already sealed that," Smith said. "Then our receivers never stopped blocking on the play; they just kept on until the play was over."

Smith's other score was a 60-yard run 25 seconds before the end of the first.

Cummings got the honor of scoring the touchdown to make it 35-0 from the 2 midway through the second. That put his team in position to play the second half with the clock running.

Matt Bahr caught a 44-yard scoring pass from Favian Upshaw in the second half, and the Minutemen got their touchdown on a 1-yard dive by quarterback Christian Provancha with 2:01 left in the game.

BY BRIAN McCALLUM
FLORIDA TODAY

Cocoa Beach forced five turnovers, and quarterback Christian Provancha accounted for five touchdowns to lift the Minutemen to a 35-28 Class 2A, District 3 victory Friday night at Space Coast.

The game wasn't decided until the final minute when the Minutemen recovered an onside kick with 18 seconds remaining. Space Coast quarterback Jeff Bolognese had scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds remaining to keep the outcome in doubt.

A pair of Space Coast fumbles in the first quarter led to a pair of 5- and 25-yard touchdown passes from Provancha to R.J. Black for a 13-0 Cocoa Beach lead. Space Coast's Courtney Reid ran for two touchdowns, one in each half.

Leading 20-7 at halftime, Cocoa Beach nearly squandered the advantage when Space Coast's Jake Swift returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Minutemen's lead to 27-21 after three quarters.

KEY PLAYERS: Provancha completed 7-of-11 passes for 178 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for another score.The Minutemen's Luke Williams caught five passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and R.J. Black caught two passes for 30 yards and two scores.

Space Coast's Devontae Stafford rushed eight times for 104 yards, Jeff Bolognese completed 12-of-21 passes for 150 yards and ran for a score, and Courtney Reid ran three times for 17 yards and two touchdowns.

THEY SAID IT: "This win ranks right up there with one of the biggest wins in my five years here," Cocoa Beach coach Tony Piccalo said. "We haven't beaten them since 2003, so to come out here and get this win is huge."

"It was the offensive line that did it," Provancha said. "They gave me enough time to deliver."

"Turnovers were the difference," Space Coast coach Rodney Torrance said. "In three of the last four ball games, we haven't done nothing but turn the ball over."

WHAT IT MEANS: Cocoa Beach stayed in the Class 2A, District 3 race with its first victory in two tries, while Space Coast lost its district opener.

RECORDS: Cocoa Beach 2-2, 1-1; Space Coast 0-4, 0-1.

BY JEFF GARDENOUR
FOR FLORIDA TODAY