EDITOR’S NOTE: Cardinal Mooney won State Semifinal Game 40-0, playing in State Championship game Dec. 10, 2025, in Miami.
The Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School Cougar Football Team has reached the Florida High School Athletic Association 2A state semifinal game for the third consecutive year.
To earn that right, the Cougars (12-1) won their regional semifinal game Nov. 21, 2025, at home in Sarasota over rival Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers. The final score was 51-14. Cardinal Mooney also defeated Bishop Verot earlier in the regular season and now leads the overall series 26-22.
The Cardinal Mooney team then won their regional championship Nov. 28, also at home, over Lakewood High School of St. Petersburg, 49-29.
The Cougars were led by junior Connail Jackson, a running back who had 351 yards rushing and five touchdowns versus Lakewood, following up a 215-yard, four-touchdown game a week earlier versus Bishop Verot.
The Cougars will play the state semifinal game at home versus Cocoa High School from Broward County at 7 p.m., Dec. 5.
Cardinal Mooney won the 1S state championship in 2023, then fell to Cocoa in the state semifinal in 2024. Previously, Cougar football teams only made it this far in the playoffs a few times, earning a state title in 1972 and the semifinals in 2006.
