Rockledge High School football: the Raiders and the back-to-back 3A titles of 2001 and 2002

Rockledge High School’s football team, the Raiders, won Florida’s Class 3A state championship in 2001 and again in 2002, both under coach Charles Wood, according to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s championship records.

The school

Rockledge High sits at 220 Raider Road. The town around it grew fast in the space era: Rockledge had 1,347 people at the 1950 census, 3,481 in 1960 and 10,523 in 1970.

Back-to-back champions

The state finals record, from the FHSAA’s record book; both games were played at Florida State University in Tallahassee:

Season	Class	Result
2001	3A	Rockledge 38, St. Augustine 6
2002	3A	Rockledge 22, Crestview 0

The 2002 shutout came in the same season that another Brevard school, Palm Bay, won the Class 4A title, beating Jefferson 19-10.

The two title runs

Both runs went through five playoff games. In 2001 the Raiders beat Hallandale 10-7, Lemon Bay 35-6 and then Glades Central 21-14 in the regional final, the team that had ended their two previous seasons. Lake Wales fell 28-19 in the semifinal, and St. Augustine 38-6 in the final.

In 2002 they beat Jupiter 35-7, Hallandale 47-6, Fort Pierce Westwood 23-12 and Jesuit 34-13 before the final. Against Crestview the kicker did most of the scoring. Clint Wright made five field goals, from 23, 26, 27, 30 and 25 yards, and the record book still lists that as the most field goals by one player, and by one team, in a state championship game. His 16 points from kicking (five field goals and an extra point) are tied for the record. Laurent Robinson caught eight passes for 128 yards.

Every Rockledge season in the playoff record

The FHSAA record book lists the playoff results for every season, and Rockledge appears in 23 of them. Glades Central of Belle Glade is the name that keeps coming back: the two schools met eight times, and Glades Central ended five Rockledge seasons.

Season	Class	How far	Last game
1983	2A	District playoffs	Lost to Clewiston, 26-7
1992	3A	Regional playoffs	Lost to Jesuit, 13-10
1993	3A	Semi-state second round	Lost to Lake Wales, 20-6
1994	4A	Semi-state final	Lost to Lake Wales, 17-6
1995	4A	Regional final	Lost to Hardee County, 13-10 (2 OT)
1996	4A	Regional quarterfinal	Lost to Stranahan, 21-14
1997	4A	Regional final	Lost to Glades Central, 14-7
1999	3A	Regional final	Lost to Glades Central, 28-17
2000	3A	Regional final	Lost to Glades Central, 20-17
2001	3A	State champion	Beat St. Augustine, 38-6
2002	3A	State champion	Beat Crestview, 22-0
2004	3A	Regional semifinal	Lost to Glades Central, 17-0
2005	4A	Regional semifinal	Lost to Eastside, 35-7
2007	4A	Regional semifinal	Lost to Seabreeze, 27-10
2012	5A	Regional quarterfinal	Lost to Glades Central, 34-12
2016	5A	Regional semifinal	Lost to Cardinal Gibbons, 19-14
2018	5A	Regional semifinal	Lost to American Heritage, 31-14
2019	5A	Regional quarterfinal	Lost to Chamberlain, 25-13
2020	5A	Regional semifinal	Lost to American Heritage, 26-14
2021	5A	Regional semifinal	Lost to Merritt Island, 20-6
2022	3S	Regional semifinal	Lost to Mainland, 16-14
2023	3S	Regional semifinal	Lost to Mainland, 22-14
2024	4A	Regional quarterfinal	Lost to Zephyrhills, 35-15

Rockledge’s three playoff wins over Glades Central came in 1994, 1995 and the 2001 title run. The 1995 loss to Hardee County went to a second overtime; that year the regional winners went straight to the state final, so Rockledge was one game from playing for the title. Brevard’s other state champions are on Old Titusville’s football page.

Further Reading

• Florida: A Short History by Michael Gannon