ORLANDO– After controlling the Florida 4A State Championship game only to relinquish the lead in the fourth quarter, Jacksonville Raines’ quarterback Ivory Durham IV found wide out Kamarree Noble in the end zone the go ahead score and 13-10 victory over defending champion, Cocoa.
Durham was the games star, he finished 14 for 25 passing with a touchdown and an interception and 59 yards rushing. Junior running back, Brandon Marshall finished with 149 yards rushing and a score.
Raines got on the board first after absolutely dominating the first half of the game that was riddled with penalties and mistakes by Cocoa. As a defending champion, the Tigers were a run first team and everyone expected them to come in and try to force their will on the ground against the Raines Vikings.
That didn’t happen.
SCORE UPDATE: Raines 6-3 over Cocoa. A 46 yard FG by kicker Alex Petruzzello puts the Tigers on the board. A bit of good fortune for Cocoa as they strip Raines’ RB Brandon Marshall and recover the ball and race down to the 24. Team went backwards with negative plays but got three
— Football Hotbed (@FootballHotbed) December 8, 2017
Through three quarters, Raines had only surrendered 28 net rushing yards to Cocoa while amassing 150 on the ground themselves. Those totals were thanks in large part to Brandon Marshall, who showed tons of pop and speed all game long until he exited in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Just before his exit, Cocoa had scored to take a 10-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. They did so behind the strong running of Willie Gaines, the junior tailback. Gaines had a 33 yard rush from the Raines 40 yard line to create first and goal from the Raines 7 yard line. He would score a touchdown two plays later.
But that’s when Durham took over for good. He lead his team on a 14 play drive that culminated in the passing score to Noble. During the drive he had a big 39 yard rush on 3 and 11 from his own 17 yard line. After the game he was calm about his performance and explained:
That’s what winners do, they win. -Ivory ‘HJ’ Durham, quarterback Raines High
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