The Roar Remains: Why Cocoa’s Return to the Final 4 Proves the Standard Hasn't Slipped
In the chaotic world of Florida high school football, the word "rebuild" is usually a polite euphemism for a losing season. It’s what you say when your 5-star quarterback leaves for the SEC and your All-American wide receiver heads to the ACC.
So, let’s be honest: The script for the Cocoa Tigers’ 2025 season was supposed to be different. This was supposed to be the year the machine finally sputtered. After all, how do you replace a quarterback like Brady Hart (now slinging it at Texas A&M) and a playmaker like Jayvan Boggs (now terrorizing defenses at FSU and is in the transfer portal)?. You don't. You take a step back, you reload, and you accept that a Final 4 run is a bridge too far.
Unless, of course, you are Ryan Schneider and the Cocoa Tigers.
If this December’s return to the state semifinals proved anything, it’s that the names on the back of the jerseys change, but the standard on the front does not. The Tigers didn't just survive the exodus of their generational talent; they reinvented themselves to stay among the elite.
The "Next Man Up" Isn't Just a Cliché
The narrative coming into August was that Cocoa’s offense would be toothless without the Hart-to-Boggs connection that shattered records in 2024. Critics pointed to the roster turnover as the end of the dynasty.
They forgot about Latrison Lane. The senior running back, who quietly racked up yards last year while the passing game grabbed the headlines, became the heartbeat of this 2025 squad. When the air attack faced growing pains, Lane put the team on his back, turning 3-yard losses into 5-yard gains and keeping the chains moving against brutal defenses like Venice and St. Thomas Aquinas.
And let’s talk about the defense. With the spotlight off the offense, the "Orange Crush" defense had to evolve. Senior linebacker Tyion Jacobs and defensive tackle Chavaris "Redman" Thompson didn't just step up; they became nightmares for opposing coordinators. In the regional finals, it was Thompson’s disruption in the trenches that forced the turnovers which Jacobs turned into field position. They proved that while you can graduate talent, you cannot graduate toughness.
The Schneider Effect
Ultimately, this sustained success leads back to one person: Head Coach Ryan Schneider.
Since taking over, Schneider has done more than just call plays; he has built an ecosystem. Along with defensive stalwarts on his staff like Dan Coe and Rick Dorminy, Schneider has created a program where the expectation of winning insulates the team from the pressure of it. Also having an OC like Adam Franco you know your offense will always be dangerous.
Most coaches would have used the loss of a Mr. Football winner like Hart as a built-in excuse for an early playoff exit. Schneider used it as a challenge. He adjusted the scheme to fit his new personnel, leaning heavier on the run game and a suffocating defense to grind out wins in November that they might have blown out opponents for in previous years.
The Verdict
Making the Final 4 this year is arguably a more impressive coaching job than the state titles that came before it. It proved that Cocoa isn't a program that relies on a single "Golden Generation" of players.
So, to the rest of the state hoping that the Tigers would finally fade away: tough luck. The 2025 Tigers proved that they don't need a roster of 5-stars to be dangerous. They just need the Tiger on the helmet and that chip on their shoulder.
The dynasty isn't dead. It just got tougher.
