Week 5 Preview: Cocoa-Eau Gallie leads non-district slate

The 2026 high school football hits the halfway mark this week as most teams return to non-district play.

Week 4 was comprised of mainly blowouts with only two of the 11 games decided by 14 points or less.

Merritt Island, Satellite, Cocoa Beach, Calvary Chapel and Merritt Island Christian look to maintain their unblemished records.

Here’s the Week 5 slate:

Thursday, Sept. 17

FHSAA

Holy Trinity (2-1) at Somerset Canyons (1-3), 6:30 p.m.

The Tigers hit the road for the first time this season to face SSAA Somerset Canyons.

Holy Trinity emerged out of the bye week with a bounce-back 43-0 win over Port St. Lucie behind three touchdowns from freshman tailback Michael Jackson. Sophomore Jackson Mobley threw a 15-yard touchdown to junior Hayden Argo.

On defense, Tigers freshman Jadiel Corbin recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

Somerset Canyons, in its first season playing in the SSAA, secured its first win of 2026 on Sept. 11 with a 20-14 road win at Northside Christian. Their first three losses were all decided by one possession.

Sophomore Artavius Walker has thrown for 513 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions as the Cougars average 15.5 points on offense. Cougars senior Wilzard Sterling is tied for second on the team with 27 tackles and leads the team with seven sacks.

Friday, Sept. 18

FHSAA

Cocoa (0-2) at Eau Gallie (2-2), 7 p.m.

After a challenging four-game road trip to open the season, Eau Gallie finally plays its first home game of the season against winless Cocoa. Eau Gallie won last year’s meeting 25-13.

The Commodores opened district play with a 47-0 win at Rockledge. They scored every point in the first half as senior Donovan Richardson rushed for two touchdowns and freshman Michael Bradshaw scored once. Junior Tay Johnson caught a touchdown from senior Joseph Allen.

Defensively, Eau Gallie intercepted four passes. Junior Gabriel Player returned his pick 26 yards for a touchdown. Senior Darious Phillips Jr. and sophomores Captain Rolle and Isaiah Danclair recorded one interception. Senior Taj Brown recovered a fumble forced by Phillips Jr. and returned it 40 yards to the end zone.

Cocoa is coming off a bye week following a 14-13 loss at Newberry on Sept. 4. Tigers sophomore Kadin Claflin-Coy completed 17-of-26 passes for 251 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Junior Anthony Whaley caught two passes for 74 yards and a touchdown.

Tigers sophomore Arziel Francis returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Senior Kenny Brooks posted 10 tackles for the team lead.

Palm Bay (1-2) at Melbourne (2-2), 7 p.m.

Melbourne and Palm Bay meet in a non-district matchup with both looking to bounce back from Week 4 district defeats.

The Bulldogs lost 48-24 to Oviedo on Sept. 10. Sophomore running back Tyrese Jefferson rushed for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Will Reinhold threw for 262 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Seniors Jeremiah Thomas and DJ Scott finished with 101 and 91 receiving yards, respectively. Scott caught a 78-yard touchdown.

Scott and sophomore Julian Baxter intercepted a pass. Sophomore Jace Richardson recorded a team-high 12 tackles and a sack. Seniors Kammare Jennings and Kymarion Johnson posted 11 tackles.

Palm Bay suffered a 46-6 defeat at Titusville on Sept. 11. It’ll look to change last year’s result in which Melbourne won 59-14.

Bishop Kenny (1-2) at Merritt Island (4-0), 7 p.m.

Merritt Island kicked off district play with a 45-0 win over Astronaut on Sept. 11.

Senior Kevin Verpaele completed 16-of-20 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Simons scored on a 23-yard touchdown run. Seniors Kamar Fielder, Drew Sarver and DeShaun Thomas and sophomore Elijah Mitchell caught a touchdown.

The defense recorded its first shutout in three years as seniors Alain Adams and Elijah Floyd posted seven tackles each. Junior Amarri Hamilton returned an interception 10 yards for a touchdown and junior Brandon Pouncey picked off his first pass of the season.

Bishop Kenny is coming off back-to-back defeats after beating Ponte Vedra in overtime in Week 2. The Crusaders, who reached the regional final last year, are led by senior tailback Caleb Mattison. He’s rushed for 497 yards and six touchdowns this season. Senior Marco Pulido is the team’s top tackler with 19.

Titusville (3-1) at Harmony (1-3), 7 p.m.

After suffering its first loss of the season in Week 3, Titusville rebounded with a 40-point blowout win over Palm Bay in its district opener.

Terriers senior Tank Harvey started at quarterback for the first time this season and threw for 95 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team in rushing with 157 yards and 1 touchdown. Junior Tamarion Walker rushed for 91 yards and three touchdowns.

On defense, sophomore Van Russell recorded 12 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Senior Semaje Glover recovered a fumble and senior Cedric Wiley and sophomore Isiah Butcher forced one fumble each.

Harmony enters on a three-game losing streak in Class 6A. After a 61-0 win in Week 1, the Longhorns were outscored 80-14 in the three losses.

Melbourne Central Catholic (2-1) at Father Lopez (1-2), 7 p.m.

The Hustlers return from their bye week with their first district game of the season at Father Lopez in Daytona Beach.

Melbourne Central Catholic suffered a 41-13 loss to Bishop Moore on Sept. 4. Sophomore Trenton Washington threw for 258 yards and junior Cayman Varis scored a one-yard touchdown run.

Hustlers senior Ty Goetsch recorded 12 tackles and junior Ryan Kling and senior Isaiah Crockett finished with 10 tackles each. Sophomore Briggs Bonenberger intercepted a pass.

Father Lopez won its first game of the season on Sept. 11 defeating Orangewood Christian 29-28. On offense, sophomore Shipley Rosenberg has thrown for 407 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Green Wave feature two rushers of at least 150 yards with junior Cyprian Onyebuashi and Rosenberg scoring 3 touchdowns each.

Father Lopez has forced two turnovers this season as senior Robbie O’Hern sports the most tackles on the team with 17.

Fort Pierce Westwood (2-1) at Heritage (2-2), 7 p.m.

Heritage continues district play in Week 5 after a 48-0 win over Legacy on Sept. 11 to move to .500.

Panthers senior Christian Ryder Borhi gained 149 total yards and two total touchdowns. Senior Izael Johnson rushed for two touchdowns and sophomore Dreyvon Lee rushed for one score. Junior Antonio Flowers Jr. caught 1 touchdown.

Lee scored one touchdown on defense on a fumble return that was caused by senior Anthony Hicks. Junior Steven Estime Jr. recorded a team-high four tackles.

Westwood returns from a bye week after it lost 26-0 to Wellington on Sept. 3. It opened the season with a 21-7 win over Palm Beach Gardens and a 40-7 victory against Centennial.

Panthers sophomore Elize Pierre is 19-for-28 for 264 yards and five touchdowns this season. Senior Jorden Swoope is the top rusher with 251 yards and 1 touchdown. Junior Amar Greene leads the team with 15 tackles.

Astronaut (1-2) at Eustis (1-2), 7 p.m.

Astronaut looks to snap a two-game losing streak after losing to Merritt Island 45-0 on Sept. 11. War Eagles senior Jaquan Hagans rushed for 112 yards and threw for 54 yards in the defeat.

Eustis also enters on a two-game losing streak after losses to Mount Dora 19-14 and Umatilla 27-13. Panthers junior Jackson Currie has thrown for 547 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for 139 yards and 3 touchdowns this season. Freshman Jacorius Gines is the team’s leading rusher with 200 yards and two touchdowns.

Eustis senior Amir Walker is the team’s star on defense with 18 tackles, six tackles for loss, four sacks, two fumble recoveries and one interception.

SSAA

Satellite (5-0) at Atlantic (3-0), 7 p.m.

It’s a matchup of undefeated teams as Satellite looks to continue its defensive shutout streak to a fifth full game.

Atlantic is playing its first game since Aug. 28 when it defeated St. Edward’s 14-7. Sharks freshman Dwawn Fountain Jr. leads the team in rushing with 278 yards and 2 touchdowns. Freshmen Jamari Quarterman and Ladaruis Snell have split time at quarterback combining for 391 yards. Quarterman has thrown four touchdowns and one interception.

The Sharks have totaled 14 sacks on defense to go with three interceptions and one fumble recovery. Sophomore Anthony Pollock leads the team with four sacks.

St. Edward’s (2-3) at Cocoa Beach (4-0)

Cocoa Beach doubled last year’s win total in Week 4 with a 40-26 victory at Inlet Grove.

Minutemen junior Jay Craft threw for 150 yards and five touchdowns. Junior TJ Bamford recorded 57 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Senior Ryan Rogers, sophomore Jonathan Dowling and freshman Jaxen McQueen each caught a touchdown.

Cocoa Beach senior Charlie Grissom led the team with 10 tackles. The Minutemen forced five turnovers. Junior Conner Hansford recovered two fumbles and junior Gavin Landers fell on one. Junior Gabriel Brinson and sophomore TJ Santerfeit intercepted 1 pass.

St. Edward’s snapped a three-game losing streak on Sept. 11 with a 30-24 win at Okeechobee.

Pirates junior Dylan Colontrelle has compiled 928 total yards with nine touchdowns. Colontrelle has thrown for 659 yards and seven touchdowns and has rushed for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He also leads the defense with three interceptions.

Senior Daniel Clemente leads the team with 31 tackles and eight tackles for loss. Junior Alex Rojas recovered two fumbles and posted two sacks.

SSAA, 8-man

Academy at the Lakes (0-3) at Merritt Island Christian (4-0), 6 p.m.

Merritt Island Christian returns from its bye week after defeating Florida School for the Deaf & Blind 48-14 on Sept. 3. Cougars senior Maddux Martinson tossed for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Micah Branch caught three passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns and senior John Hey posted four receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns.

Cougars junior Korbin Kugler led the team with 18 tackles. Juniors Shane Chandler and Mason Van Slyke followed with 17 and 12 tackles, respectively. Van Slyke also produced one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Academy at the Lakes is searching for its first win of the season. After losing the first two games by three points, the Wildcats suffered a 56-8 defeat Lakeside Christian on Sept. 4.

Calvary Chapel (4-0) at Ocala Christian (1-3), 7 p.m.

Calvary Chapel recorded its third straight shutout win on Sept. 11 defeating Lake Mary Prep 36-0. Eagles senior Gavin Stewart led the offense with 101 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Zach Wolfe finished with 83 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

Ocala Christian is coming off a 42-36 defeat against Hernando Christian Academy. Crusaders junior Vincent Perella leads the team in rushing with 486 yards and five touchdowns. Defensively, freshman Marcus Baine and junior Antonio Shuman recorded 22 and 21 tackles, respectively, this season.

Sept. 21

Discovery (0-3) at Space Coast (3-1), 7 p.m.

Space Coast returns from its bye week with its makeup game against Discovery after the game was postponed from Sept. 11.

The Vipers won 48-0 for the second consecutive week beating Celebration. Junior Zion Sandy completed 12-of-16 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman running back Charlie Williams posted 10 carries, 122 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Kadyn Thomas caught three passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.

Williams led the defense with seven tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and two forced fumbles. Thomas intercepted a pass.

Discovery looks to enter the win column after a 43-0 loss to Cocoa Beach, 55-0 defeat to George Jenkins and a 12-6 loss versus Liberty.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Week 5 Preview: Cocoa-Eau Gallie leads non-district slate