A fresh new voice!

Conquistadors Head to Florida

August 27, 2010

When the Olive Branch Conquistadors announced they were going on a road trip for the second game of the season, they weren’t kidding.

After defeating Memphis East, 48-8, on Aug. 20 at home to open the regular season, the Quistors loaded up Thursday and headed south --- more than 700 miles to the south – for Saturday night’s game against defending Florida state champion Cocoa High School.

“They have the longest winning streak in the state of Florida,” Olive Branch head coach Scott Samsel noted. “They’ve won the last two state championships in their classification.”

Located about 50 miles east of Orlando, Cocoa is an independent city of over 16,400 residents. Most residents are in the 20-44 –year-old age range. The city encompasses 8.3 square miles.

Comparably, Olive Branch has more than 27,000 residents, with a median age of 34.2. The ninth-largest city in Mississippi, Olive Branch encompasses 36.3 square miles.

A public high school located in Brevard County, Cocoa has an enrollment of approximately 955 students. The school was established in 1917 with Tigers as the mascot and school colors of orange and black.

Olive Branch High School, on the other hand, has approximately 1400 students. The current school was established in 1970, by the combining of East High and the old Olive Branch High. The mascot, Conquistadors, was chosen because it was neither black nor white and was seen as a conqueror over the racial segregation of the past.

“They are in a different classification,” Samsel said, “but they’re a school about the same size as Olive Branch.”

On the gridiron, Cocoa has won back-to-back state championships, first in Class 2A in 2008 and then in Class 2A in 2009. The Tigers currently boast a 24-game winning streak.

Cocoa opens the 2010 season against Olive Branch (1-0).

“We are two-time defending state champions, going 14-0 in 2009 and 14-1 in 2008,” said head coach John Wilkinson. “We are currently on a 24-game win streak.

“We have 36 players on our varsity team,” he added, “and have seven starters back on defense and one back on offense.”

A starter for the past two seasons, Chevelle Buie is Cocoa’s lone returner on offense. During the 2008 and 2009 campaigns, Buie rushing for 3353 yards and 37 touchdowns.

Defensively, returning linebacker Grady Redding is the Tigers’ leading tackler. Tyrell Denson had the most sacks and Rick Rivers is returning interception leader.

Over the past six seasons, Cocoa has averaged 10.5 wins per year while Olive Branch is averaging 10.8 victories per season.

Saturday night’s game between Olive Branch and Cocoa will be played at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium. OBTV19 Comcast Cable will broadcast the contest live beginning at 5 p.m. on Aug. 28. The game will also be broadcast live via the Internet at www.dcsaa.com.

After playing Cocoa, the Quistors take a week off before returning to action on Sept. 10 at Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy. The Tigers face a major road trip of their own as they travel to Woodland (Pa.) Hills on Sept. 4 to play Thomas Jefferson High, then on to DeSoto, Texas, to meet Abilene on Sept. 10.