The area’s first district champion of the year will be crowned Friday night. Cocoa (1-3) comes to Orlando to play The First Academy (4-1) with the Class 2A District 5 title on the line. Those are the only teams in that district.

TFA is ranked No. 3 n the FHSAA 2A rankings behind nine-time state champ Chaminade-Madonna of Hollywood and Cardinal Newman of West Palm Beach, which upset Chaminade in last year’s 1A title game.

We’ll be posting live updates right here once games kick off. Check back often.

CHECK HERE FOR SCOREBOARD UPDATES ON ALL GAMES

Go to the Sentinel Varsity home page for news on all high school sports. Games listed are scheduled for 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise.

Rankings in bold are from this week’s Sentinel Super 16 coaches poll. Teams are listed with win-loss records in parentheses. Asterisks denote district games. District records are included for teams that have played previous district games:

Marquee matchups
Cocoa (1-3, 0-0) at No. 2 The First Academy (4-1, 0-0)

Coverage by Chris Martucci

TFA, which was banned from the FHSAA playoffs the past two years, is back in the hunt for a state championship — and a candidate for the new eight-team Open Division. Cocoa, a seven-time state champ, has slipped this year, but its strength of schedule is a factor in that. The Tigers losses are to 3A No. 4 Merritt Island (6-0), 3A No. 6 Eau Gallie (4-2) and 2A No. 19 Newberry (3-3).

No. 3 Jones (3-1) at No. 12 Ocoee (3-2)

Coverage by Jean Racine

Jones, No. 4 in 4A, is 5-2 against the Knights and has scored shutouts in the past three meetings: 28-0 last year, 14-0 in 2024 and 18-0 in 2021. Ocoee is also in the playoff hunt at No. 24 in 6A.

St. Cloud (3-2, 0-1) at No. 16 Gateway (5-0, 1-0)

Coverage by Chris Hays

Gateway is in a three-way tie for first with Lake Nona (5-1, 1-0) and Tohopekaliga (4-1, 1-0) in 6A District 5. The Panthers have never won a district title and haven’t made the playoffs since 2018.

St. Cloud is 27-10 against the Panthers —- including seven wins in a row.

More big games

Centennial (1-4) at No. 1 DeLand (4-1) 

DeLand, ranked No. 3 in 6A behind Miami Columbus and Venice, is averaging 37.6 points per game. Centennial has allowed 34.6 ppg. The Spec Martin Stadium scoreboard will get a workout.

New Smyrna Beach (4-1) at Tohopekaliga (4-1)

The Barracudas are averaging 38.8 points. Toho averages 32.

Wiregrass Ranch (2-3) at No. 11 East Ridge (4-2)

The Knights play Wiregrass for the first time.

No. 14 Hagerty (3-1) at Seabreeze (3-2)

Hagerty is coming off a crucial district win against Winter Park. This game is at Daytona Stadium.

University-Orlando (4-1) at Wekiva (2-4)

University is on track to finish above .500 for the first time since 2013 (8-3). First time they’ve played the Mustangs since a 2018 loss.

Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.