ORLANDO – With six minutes to play in the fourth quarter, and trailing the Cocoa Tigers 10-6, Raines Vikings quarterback Ivory Durham IV dropped back to pass from the Cocoa eight yard line.
Back peddling to avoid the rush, Durham lofted a pass off his back foot from the 15 yard line to the end zone where it fell into the hands of wide receiver Kamaree Noble for the go ahead touchdown.
Raines kicker Ishmael Sanders knocked through the extra point, and Raines took a 13-10 lead over Cocoa with 5:41 to play in the game.
Cocoa would drive down the field into Raines territory on their ensuing drive, but on fourth and three, the Vikings defense would step up as they had all game tackling running back Javian Hawkins for no gain to end the Cocoa drive, end the championship game, and subsequently end a twenty year title drought for a Duval County public school football team.
Uncontrollable emotion filled the players and coaches on the Raine’s sideline as tension from losing the Class 4A championship two years ago, and the weight of an entire region, fell to the turf of Camping World Stadium.
The Gatorade bath ensued for Head Coach Deran Wiley and the 2017 trophy was hoisted by his seniors, as the William M. Raines Vikings were crowned Class 4A State Champions.
The Vikings played with poise and emotion that championship caliber teams are made of.
On their first drive, senior quarterback Ivory Durham IV ignited the offense by with an incredible play. On 3rd and 17, Durham looked as if he was going to be sacked by a Cocoa defender, when he escaped their grasp, rolled out and hit Almon Nelson for an 18 yard gain and a first down.
The play instantly showed the Cocoa defense and fans that Durham was a special player to watch.
After the unconventional efforts of Durham, Raines would move the ball in more conventional fashion calling on junior running back Brandon Marshall. Marshall would move the ball on the ground with two big first down runs to get the ball to the Cocoa 32 yard line.
Conventional running gave way to unconventional scrambling once again as Ivory Durham eluded rushers to sprint twenty of the twenty one yards need for a first down. On 4th & 1, Raines would call on Brandon Marshall but the Cocoa defense stopped the ball carrier short of the sticks to turn the ball over on downs.
Marshall would get another crack at it and bust the seems out of the Tiger defense. Late in the first quarter, Marshall took the zone read around the left side and broke free for a 72-yard touchdown run to put the Vikings up 6-0. The PAT would be unsuccessful, however Raines successfully fired the first shots of the hard nosed battle.
The remainder of the half saw the Vikings defense dominate the contest. Cocoa sported two running backs who each rushed for over 1,000 yards this season.
Senior Javian Hawkins (Louisville commit) and junior Willie Gaines made up a dynamic duo that had run roughshod over team’s like Bartram Trail and Trinity during the regular season.
In the state championship game, the Raines defense completely shut them down. Players like linebacker Elijah Spivey, defensive end Juan Westberry, and defensive end Deante Bush made plays on defense thwarting potential game breaking plays by the talented Tigers.
Hawkins was able to find a running lane in the second quarter forcing his way to the one yard line, but the Raines defense forced a fumble and it was recovered by Breon McDonald in the end zone for a touch back.
The Vikings dodged a big bullet on the drive, as the Tigers could only manage a field goal at the end of the half to put the score at 6-3.
The first half saw Raines dominate on the ground. Running back Brandon Marshall rushed nine times for 99 yards in the first half alone. The Vikings defense held Cocoa to just 32 yards rushing in the first half as well.
Cocoa came into the contest averaging 313 rushing yards a game. However they were unable to elude the quick and fast defensive front of Raines.
In the second half, defense continued to rule the day as both offenses struggled to move the ball. Cocoa and Raines traded punts and they also traded turns committing penalties. Cocoa successfully executed a fake punt in the third but was nullified by a flag.
A pass from Durham to Noble looked to extend a Vikings drive but was wiped away by laundry on the field. In total, there were 30 penalties for 263 yards, 19 called on Raines for 191 yards. One controversial call resulted in the fourth quarter in a crucial time in the game.
After Cocoa’s Willie Gaines gave the Tigers a 10-6 lead on a two yard touchdown run, Durham staged a touchdown drive from the shadow of his own end zone.
On 3rd and 17, Durham eluded defenders on a spectacular 39 yard run for a first down into Tiger territory.
Yet a flag was thrown for an illegal crack back block on Raines that pushed the ball back to the Viking 41 yard line. The Vikings faithful erupted in outrage as the stadium monitor showed the Raines would be blocker completely miss the defender.
The call sent shock waves and fears through the hearts of fans, as it seemed as if the Duval County public school championship curse would continue yet another year. But Quarterback Ivory Durham would not let that happen.
After losing play maker Brandon Marshall (17-149-1) to a knee injury on the next play, Ivory Durham IV did what he has always done during his football playing days, he put the game on his shoulders.
After a Raynell Killian rush for no gain and minus three yards, Durham came back to Killian on a beautiful 33 yard pass play down the seam of the Cocoa defense on 3rd and 13. Raines had the ball on the Cocoa 9 yard line.
After a Killian one yard run, and an incomplete pass by Durham, Raines found themselves with another third down play. He converted an incredible pass to Noble for the touchdown. The moment was never to big for the 6’0, 175lb quarterback.
His play put Raines ahead 13-10 and left the job in the hands of his defense.
“The defense came to me and said no matter what, if you score a touchdown we will stop Cocoa,” Durham stated.
Well Durham and the offense certainly did their part, now it was time for the defense to do theirs. With the game still up for grabs at 5:41 left on the clock, the Raines defense would once again make a big play when it counted. The ensuing Cocoa drive started at their own 17 yard line.
After a pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Tiger 20 yard line Cocoa quarterback Bradley Cantrell tossed an interception to Raines linebacker Javon Bonsell.
Bonsell returned the ball to the Cocoa 9 yard line looking to ice the game. However a roughing the passer penalty on Raines gave the ball back to Cocoa on their own 35 yard line.
Javian Hawkins first down run and a Cantrell pass to Gaines put Cocoa in prime position to either win or tie the ball game.
With first and 10 at the Raines 39 yard line, Raine’s Elijah Spivey made a tackle on Hawkins after gaining five yards. Then big Rod Billingslea stopped Gaines for a one yard run.
Next it was Bonsell’s turn who held Gaines to just a one yard run. Finally on fourth down, Cocoa put the ball in Hawkins hands on a run to the left where a swarm of Vikings defenders led by Deante Bush and Diop Kee met the ball carrier for a one yard loss, the turnover on downs, and their second state championship in school history.
The 2017 Vikings won thirteen straight games dating back to week two of the regular season. They averaged 44.2 points per game in the regular season, while outscoring their playoff opponents 153-28.
It was truly a special team, one that can only be compared the last public school team to win a championship the undefeated 1997 Vikings.
As former Raines head coach Welton Coffey (1997 state champion) celebrated the team’s victory on the sidelines, it should be noted that current Raines head coach Deran Wiley did something even Coffey wasn’t able to do.
Wiley has led the Vikings to two state championship appearances in three years. Wiley’s win Thursday night gave the school and Duval county its second state title exactly twenty years apart.
He was emotional after the game when asked what the difference between this year and his state runner up team in 2015. ” Experience, no how…..(pause)…. I’m just excited for Duval County the Northside, let’s get ready to party”.
Photos by: Aaron Jones ( DuvalSports.com / EaglesEye Photography)
