_{December 11th, 2025}
by Josh Zedner
Miami, Fla. | “Cougars Claw Through Bulldogs”

Florida Man Sports is back with coverage of the South Florida high school football season! We are now in the finals. Pitbull Stadium is set to be rocking all week long with incredible finals matchups every single day. Our first showdown is between the Bolles Bulldogs, hailing from Jacksonville, and the Cardinal Mooney Cougars, out of Sarasota. Bolles has breezed through their playoff slate, with their most recent W coming against Cardinal Gibbons in a 42-20 contest. For the Cougars, it has been mostly the same, and they were coming off of a dominant 40-0 shutout against Cocoa.

There was a drop on the kick return which got Mooney started off poorly inside their own 5-yard line. But 2027 RB Connail Jackson got them out of that trouble very quickly by galloping for two first down runs. 2027 QB Davin Davidson connected with 2026 WR Kymistrii Young (UNC commit) for two first downs, the second coming on a jet sweep. Davidson then found 2026 WR Bo O’Daniel in the back of the endzone to give the Cougars an early 7-0 lead.

2026 QB Jaden Weatherly and the Bulldog offense looked for a quick response. Weatherly used his legs to scramble for a first down. He then dumped off a screen to his stud 2028 RB Xander Edwards who got a first down after trucking a guy. Then, with some nice motion around him, Weatherly found a wide open 2026 ATH Naeem Burroughs (Clemson commit) in the endzone and Bolles evened the game at 7.

Davidson got right back to work. After another first down run by Jackson, he connected with O’Daniel and Young (twice) for a few first downs. Jackson then rushed right up the middle for his first score of the game. After a blocked extra point, the score was 13-7. Edwards trucked some more people on Bolles’ next drive. He also had a one handed catch to put his Bulldogs in the redzone. But he was then stuffed 3 times in a row on some questionable play-calling which forced a field goal attempt. It went wide right.

2026 QB Devin Mignery (Stanford commit) entered the game for Mooney. And he had some success as well. He connected with 2026 WR Mason Jordan for a first down completion. This was after first down runs by Jackson and 2026 ATH LaRon Dues. Mignery then found O’Daniel, who snagged the ball mid-air and breezed into the endzone to extend the lead out to 13 points. The Bolles defense was getting shredded.

And the Mooney defense began to step up. 2026 DB Jayden Burnett batted a ball down. 2026 LB KJ Brown and 2026 DE Elijah Golden (Notre Dame commit) then combined for a TFL. Golden and 2026 DE Bryce Fulda (Western Kentucky commit) then had a sack on the very next play that forced a 3 and out. The next Cougar possession started with some great field position.

And Mignery took advantage of it. He connected with Dues for a first down. Then he scrambled for a few first downs of his own. So many options for this team, but the safest option is always to give the ball to the bellcow Jackson, and they did just that. And to no one’s surprise, he scored yet again. The lead was 27-7, in favor of Mooney at the half.

Bolles needed some momentum to give themselves a chance. Edwards did just that. He ran for a couple of rumbling first downs to kick off the 3rd quarter. Weatherly then connected with 2027 WR Camden Tietze for a first down, and eventually Burroughs for another touchdown in the back of the endzone. The offense was flowing and they needed a big stop from their defense.

But after an interesting decision to go with an onside kick, Mooney was set up nicely. Davidson came back into the game and connected for first downs with Jordan and Young. Jackson ran for another first down, and eventually his 3rd touchdown of the game. The next Bolles drive went nowhere. Brown and 2028 DE Tra’Vion Lester combined for a sack that forced a punt. On 4th and 20, Coach Matt Toblin made another gutsy call with a direct snap to 2026 ATH Simeon Caldwell (Ohio State commit), who got the first down, and then chugged all the way to the endzone for a touchdown on a fake punt. What a play, and we had a game once again.

But once again, the Bulldog defense just could not get the stop that they needed. Davidson found Jordan for another first down. Jackson rumbled for yet another first. And Davidson then connected with O’Daniel for his 3rd touchdown reception of the day. This kid had the game of his life in the championship! Desperation time for Bolles at this point. Weatherly lofted the ball downfield to find a man, and Dues snatched it out of the air and nearly took it to the house. Bolles’ state dreams were crashing down.

Jackson essentially finished this game with his 4th touchdown of the game, making the lead 46-21. Lester and Golden added another sack to each of their tallys. Burroughs had his third touchdown of the game late in the 4th quarter. And then Mignery ran for a 50+ yard touchdown to finish the final tally at 52-28.

Congratulations to the Cardinal Mooney Cougars on winning the Division 2A Florida State Title. Jackson and O’Daniel will get all of the headlines with their performance. I mean they combined for 7 touchdowns. Davidson was on the money for them all night as well. And Golden was causing absolute havoc in the backfield. This was a very well rounded team. And with Davidson and Jackson coming back next year to lead the offense, they will be well-positioned to challenge for a repeat.

The Bolles Bulldogs come up one game short of their state title dreams. Edwards and Burroughs were the engines for this offense, but the defense let them down time and time again in this game. They didn’t force one punt the entire game. Can’t win a game without getting any stops. Edwards will be back next year to lead this offense, and it can definitely be said that he might be the best RB in Florida in 2028. They need defense though, and if that improves, they will once again be a top team aiming to get to states.

FINAL SCORE:
Cardinal Mooney beats Bolles 52-28

Florida Man Sports Co-Players of the Game:

2027 RB Connail Jackson (4 Rushing TDs)

2026 WR Bo O’Daniel (3 Receiving TDs)


About Josh Zedner:
Joshua Zedner is a beat writer covering high school football for Florida Man Sports. A native of Miami Beach, he attended Florida International University before finishing his undergraduate Business Administration degree at the University of Florida. Josh is an avid Miami sports fan, and he also writes a music review blog as a passion project under the @AlbumAnalysisWithZ handle on Instagram.