Orlando Fl- With 3:02 left in the game and Raines leading Cooca 21-13, Vikings defensive back Treyvon Hobbs intercepted Tiger quarterback Diego Arroyo and returned it 66-yards for a game clinching touchdown. For Raines, it was a spectacular defensive performance as their unit capped a first half where they gave up only 9 yards rushing, with a second half that secured three interceptions. The turnovers were the difference in the game, as Raines won their second Class 4A State Championship in a row, setting Duval County Public School history as the only program to achieve the feat.
It was a sloppy start for both teams in the game as penalty flags riddled the field. Raines was flagged for 10 first half penalties which stifled their offense that gained big plays. Starting quarterback Jacorey Rivers gained 20 yards on a 3rd and 23 early in the game. When Raines punted, Cocoa would muffed the punt and the Vikings recovered at the 11 yard line. Three penalties pushed Raines back however, and a fourth down pass was incomplete squandering an early scoring opportunity.
After forcing a Cocoa punt on their first possession, Raines would drive down the field thanks in part to another long run by Rivers, this time 21 yards. He;d ad a 14 yard gain on the ground and a 3 yard pass to Daivarius Thomas to set up the offense first and goal at the 5 yard line. On the next play Brandon Marshall would take it into the end zone to give Raines a 7-0 first quarter lead.
In the second quarter, Raines would continue their zone read rushing success with Rivers who would gain 21 yards on a run. Brandon Marshall would gain a two first downs on the drive on rushes of 11 yards, 6 yards and 4 yards consecutively. That effective running opened up a rushing lane for Jamond Handy who took the hand off around the edge for the 8-yard touchdown as Raines took a 14-0 lead over Cocoa.
#23 Jamond Handy scores the TD for Raines! 14-0 2nd Raines lead Cocoa pic.twitter.com/FGPGnmcoqe
— Duval Sports ™️ (@DuvalSports) December 7, 2018
Cocoa would attempt to go to the air as the Raines defense continued to stuff the vaunted Cocoa rushing attack. Quarterback Diego Arroyo would complete a 42 yard pass to Willie Gaines setting up a 4 yard pass from Arroyo to Caziah Holmes for the score. Cocoa would get on the board in the second quarter, swinging momentum with their defense by keeping the Vikings out of the end-zone as time expired in the first half with Raines failing to score from Cocoa’s 20-yard line.
In the second half Raines would run away with the game thanks to its opportunistic defense. A defense that had only given up 9 points in the playoffs continued the dominating trend as they hounded Cocoa players. Cocoa would come out of halftime determined on passing the ball and the strategy seemed to work in the beginning. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half Arroyo would hit Latrell Pace on a big 49 yard pass. He would then hit Willie Gaines for an 18 yard completion to get the ball to Raine’s 11 yard line. Yet Raine’s defense would stuff the Tigers thanks to a tackle for loss and pressures by DE Janorris Robertson. Cocoa was forced to attempt a 24-yard field goal but missed wide. the score remained 14-7 Raines lead.
Similar scenarios continued to plague the Cocoa offense thanks to the pressuring defense of Raines Cocoa would have the ball again first and goal at the Vikings 8 yard line, but the defense tackled and closed in the box forcing Cocoa to kick a 22- yard field goal. Cocoa pull would to within four at 14-10 at the end of the 3rd.
In the fourth, closeness of competition would turn into a chasm of calamity for Cocoa as Raines adjusted in the secondary to defend the now pass happy offense of Cocoa. First Uriah Ratliff would intercept a pass to stall a Cocoa drive early in the fourth.
With Raine’s offense sputtering and forced to punt, Cocoa would get another shot deep in Viking territory to take the lead. However linebacker Nigel Allen and company would stuff the run and a 3rd down pass was defended well by defensive back James Tarver Jr forcing Cocoa to kick yet another field goal closing the gap to 14-13 with 5:03 to play in the fourth.
Needing a spark on offense Coach Deran Wiley went back to the young man that had guided his team most of the season quarterback Barren Coates. Coates was benched in favor of fellow quarterback Jacorey Rivers in the playoffs simply due to matchup mismatches. In the biggest game of his life, Coates would come in and observe a major mismatch of his own. Said Coates ” On the sidelines I saw that they weren’t covering Brandon (Marshall) in the passing game, so when I got in I got it to him”.
— Joeycash2k4 (@joeycash2k4) December 7, 2018
Coates and Marshall would combine to make one of the most spectacular plays in state championship history. Coates dropped back to pass from his own 26 yard line and hit Marshall for a 74 yard touchdown pass, in which Marshall eluded four defenders by criss-crossing across the field, and finally diving into the end zone for spectacular touchdown.
At that point, Cocoa had done a good job of containing the all-time leading rusher in Raines history who came into the game with over 4,000 career yards. Cocoa had given up just 63-yards on the ground to him. However Marshall showed that he was just as much of a threat in the passing game as he is on the ground with the amazing game changing play.
Uriah Ratliff, Aric Horne and Treyvon Hobbs with second half interceptions to lead Raines to the 27-13 win over Cocoa! Vikings are Back 2 Back State Champs! pic.twitter.com/ffa0PFuUEg
— Duval Sports ™️ (@DuvalSports) December 7, 2018
As Raines held a 21-13 lead with 4 minutes to play in the fourth, The Vikings would begin to run away with it on defense when Treyvon Hobbs intercepted Arroyo and returned it 66-yards for a Viking touchdown. Horne would stamp the defensive effort with an interception of his own, as Raines took two knees to end the game at 27-13 and State Champions.
— Joeycash2k4 (@joeycash2k4) December 7, 2018
For Head Coach Deran Wiley, he ascends into coaching royalty as one of only a handful of area coaches to repeat in consecutive years as state champions. With two state championships and three state appearances in four years at the Raines, he has done what no other Duval County public school head coach has done. Said Coach Wiley after the game “I’m so proud of these boys, state champions, we are going to celebrate tonight”. History for him and history for Raines, let the party begin.
Photos by: Aaron Jones of DuvalSports.com
