The Raines High School Vikings are state champs.
The Vikings beat the Cocoa High School Tigers 13-to-10 in Thursday’s Class 4-A football championship game in Orlando.
WJCT Sports Analyst Cole Pepper calls the win historic. “It’s just the second time in history that a public school in Duval County has won a state football championship,” said Pepper.
The first time, Pepper said, was when Raines did it in 1997. “So 20 years. And the interesting thing is, Duran Wiley, the head coach, was in the stands for that game in 1997. He was on the sidelines, coaching his team to victory in Orlando.”
For folks who follow high school football, Pepper said to keep an eye on the Bartram Trail Bears who play Venice for the Class 7-A title Saturday. This will be the first time in the Fleming Island school’s history that the Bears have advanced to the state championship game.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter @cydwjctnews.
