Eagles win sends Cocoa High School football alumni to Super Bowl
COCOA, Florida. – Another Cocoa High School football graduate won the Super Bowl.
Philadelphia Eagles player CJ Gardner-Johnson became the third former high school football player in recent years to achieve success in the sport.
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Bryan and Del Johnson said that 20 years before the Eagles beat their ticket to Sunday’s Super Bowl, Gardner-Johnson dreamed of playing on the biggest football scene.
“I texted him yesterday after the game and said, ‘Since you were 4 years old, this is what you wanted and the time has come,'” Del Johnson said, the pair are still mulling over their emotions after their biggest meeting yet. win in his son’s career so far.
At Cacao High School, Gardner-Johnson’s teammates included his cousin Jawaan Taylor of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Jamel Dean, a cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who won the Super Bowl two years earlier.
Cocoa City gave Dean the key to the city.
A similar celebration was held last year when another Cocoa alumnus, Javian Hawkins of the LA Rams, won the Super Bowl ring.
“I expect CJ to be here,” Brian Johnson said of his son playing in the Super Bowl. “He wants to be the best player of all time.”
Gardner-Johnson’s parents opened a New Orleans-style coffee shop in Rockledge after the Saints recruited their son, and then opened a second store in Port St. John.
At Cocoa High School, the success of the football program continues.
The Tigers have won five state championships over the past 15 years, including last year under head coach Ryan Schneider.
Schneider said having three alumni on three Super Bowl teams in a row is something special.
“Not just for football, but for quality youngsters who will excel at the next level from college to pro,” he said.
When asked about their Super Bowl predictions, Brian Johnson predicted the Eagles would beat the Chiefs 24–17.
“Given that he is our son, it is obvious that we represent the Eagles,” Del Johnson said.
If the Eagles won, the city said they would throw a party for Gardner-Johnson, as they did for Dean and Hawkins.
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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.
