Football Hotbed’s Future 4 Shines At National Middle School Showcase

Follow Duluth, GA– In the coldest game ever played (28 degrees at its conclusion) in Football Hotbed National Showcase history, Team Read, paced by the outstanding performance by 2025 TE Matis Gibson, won a defensive battle 14-6 over Team White in our fifth annual Senior Bowl presented by the Portal Media Group.  The game’s scoring began when RL Ward, III, intercepted a Deron Benson pass and took it 35 yards for a pick-six.  The extra point attempt failed putting Team Red up 6-0.  After several stalled drives, punts and interceptions, both teams failed to move the ball much.  Team White did have great success on the ground running behind Frank Vomero, Jr. who racked up 110 yards on the ground in an losing effort. However, penalties and an inability to convert on third downs led to no points. The Red team found the most success through the air.  Miami’s Gabriel Fraga hooked up with Gibson to the tune of 109 yards in the air and a touchdown.  Gibson, a former quarterback, also attempted a pass on offense.Walking away with his first MVP award in three tries, Gibson put together his best performance in three outings at the Football Hotbed National High School Showcases.  He played H-back as a sophomore, quarterback as a junior last year and starred as a senior.  He currently holds three offers.The lineman MVP of the game award went to Ocala, Florida’s Bernard Little. He provided consistent pressure for Red’s dominant defense that didn’t surrender a point until seven seconds left in the game. The defensive MVP award went to Jonesboro, Georgia’s Jayden Howard who had two interceptions on the night in a losing effort.  Each Football Hotbed Senior Bowl MVP received a brand-new HP Google Chromebook for use in college and beyond.   watch a replay of the game via youtube

Follow Miami- Defending state champion Cocoa made it three-straight with a 38-27 win Gadsen County (near Tallahassee) Thursday afternoon in FIU’s Pitbull Stadium.  The 2A FHSAA final match up featured Cocoa’s air attack against Gadsen County’s power run attack.  Texas A&M commit and Cocoa Tiger quarterback Brady Hart led the way through the air to the tune of 259 yards passing and 1 TD on 22 of 31 passing.  His leading wideout was Florida State commit, Jayvan Boggs. He caught 6 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown.  The ground game was really the back breaker for Gadsen County, ironically, as the Cocoa Tigers racked up 100 yards on the ground as both Hart and Latrison Lane both rushed for 64 yards a piece.  Hart took sacks that took away 28 team rushing yards but was clutch picking up first downs on scrambles downfield to keep key drives alive.Cocoa began the scoring with a dart from Hart to Boggs, scoring off a Gadsen County turnover. But the Jaguars from Gadsen County would march right back down the field and tie the game on a Kemarrion Battles rushing touchdown.  Battles scored twice, racking up 96 yards on the ground for the Jaguars from the Tallahassee metro area.  The game would go back and forth for the duration until Cocoa broke it wide open on a play in the fourth quarter.  On fouth down, leading by only four, with under two minutes to play, the Coca Tigers tried to draw the Jags off-sides.  It didn’t work. After a time out, they went for it and got not only the two yards needed for a first down, but they also completely iced the game as Lane scored from 42 yards out. It’s the school’s seventh championship, third consecutive and for head coach Ryan Schneider, it cements a legacy.  PLAY CALL OF THE YEAR!!!Cocoa goes for it on 4th and 2 and Latrison Lane scores. That gives the Tigers a 38-27 lead with 1:04 remaining @CocoaFootball @Cocoa_Schneider @LaTrisonLane20 @321preps pic.twitter.com/tdqwPQkgMm— Jon Santucci (@JonSantucci) December 12, 2024

Follow Miami– Chaminade Madonna ran away with their fourth consecutive FHSAA state football title Wednesday night behind a strong ground game and a stingy defense.  Head coach Dameon Jones notched his seventh titles in nine years as he added to the nine titles the school has to date.He’s built quite a legacy at Chaminade, due in part to attracting some of the nation’s best players.  This years crop had to replace legends like Jeremiah Smith and Joshia Trader who are now Division I football players at the Power four level.They did not disappoint.  After two early season losses, Chaminade rolled the remainder of the season. They even knocked off nationally rated, St. Thomas Aquinas along the way. A team they had not played in over 40 years. The star this year for coach Jones? It was undoubtedly Derreck Cooper, a top-rated athlete in the class of 2026. Cooper finished the game with 92 yards rushing on just ten carries and a touchdown.  He also had a tackled on defense, where he played predominately in the two years prior to transferring to Chaminade. The passing game was led by Tyler Chance (15 for 20 196, 3 TDs) and paced by junior Denairius Gray who hauled in five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.  Senior Kyle Washington, the only player on the team with four consecutive state title medals as he played as a freshman, also contributed with 4 catches for 34 yards. He’ll head to Atlanta, GA to play for Georgia State next fall.  Dameon Jones, head coach, Chaminade Madonna Denairius gray's one-hand catch TD @Nadeboyz 21-0 @xklvsive_1 #hotbedworld @FHSAA 3Q pic.twitter.com/wsgdgVl1CK— Football Hotbed (@FootballHotbed) December 12, 2024 derreck cooper proved he's one of the nation's best Brandon Odoi of Football Hotbed interviewing Derreck Cooper