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Eau Gallie High enters the 2026 football season with its biggest expectations ever.
After reaching a regional final last year, the Commodores look to contend for the school’s first state championship with an uber-talented team.
“(Practice) has been great. The competitiveness is elite, so every day we go out there it’s a chance to get better,” Eau Gallie head coach Chris Sands said. “Our guys have really taken the opportunity to practice at a really high level to get us ready for the season.”
The Commodores reached the final eight last season, persevering through adversity that began with a season-ending injury to quarterback Joseph Allen in the first game of 2025.
“The takeaway was just fight through anything and understand trust us coaches to put our guys in the right situation to make plays,” Sands said. “Obviously, we did that. We came up short for the state title, but at the end of the day with the adversity we faced, I was really happy with the way our guys fought.”
Eau Gallie features one of the deepest and most-talented teams in the state, with numerous Division I recruits. With all that talent comes great challenges for Sands and the coaching staff to find roles.
“Since we’ve been here nine years ago, it’s the best 11 who will play whether it’s the same 11 or different 11 week in and week out in practice. We are going to evaluate and try to get our best 11 on the field,” Sands said. “If we have that mentality that it doesn’t matter if you are five-star Gabriel Player or a kid that’s walking onto campus for the first time as a freshman, the best player is going to play.”
Despite Allen’s injury, Eau Gallie averaged 30.2 points per game. Allen returns under center after throwing for 2,376 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2024. The receiving core includes senior Lukas Viselli, juniors Zay Hawkins and Tay Johnson and Cocoa transfer Troy Silberzahn.
In the backfield, the Commodores will be led by sophomore X’Zavier Corbin. Last year, he rushed for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“As talented as those guys are, they just have to understand it might not always be their day. At the end of the day, their day will come,” Sands said. “Our guys are unselfish. They want what’s best for our team. Those guys are prepared to take that challenge and make sure they’re going to make plays when they’re given to them.”
The Commodores' defense return plenty of playmakers, including senior Kayden Jaquez, junior Gabriel Player and sophomore Captain Rolle. The defense allowed 17.5 points per game a year ago.
Jaquez led the team with 122 tackles last season. Player posted 59 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Rolle tied for the team lead with 8 passes defended last season and intercepted 3 passes, which is tied for the most among returners.
“I’ve never seen a defense at the high school level as talented as we are. We have six Division I defensive backs, we have the No. 1 linebacker in the country, we have the No. 1 cornerback in the country,” Sands said. “We have guys all over the field that just week-in and week-out make plays. I know as an offensive guy in practice how hard it is for us to move the ball with all our talent. I can’t imagine what teams are going to do against our defense on Friday nights.”
Eau Gallie opens the regular season on Aug. 21 at Carrollwood Day in Tampa. With the championship aspirations comes pressure, and Sands said it’s important for every player to do their part and prepare the correct way.
“Health is a huge thing in any high school program if they want to win a state title. Obviously, we have a lot of new faces. Just having our guys come together as a team, having them buy into what us coaches are trying to give them. I think it will be huge,” Sands said. “It’s going to be a long season. We don’t play a 10-game season here. We play a 13, 14-game season. It’s just taking it week by week. At the end of the day, it’s expecting to perform every day in practice will go such a long way on Friday nights.”
Head coach: Chris Sands enters his ninth season in charge of Eau Gallie.
Postseason history: Eau Gallie reached the state semifinals in 2024.
Playoff seasons: ’95, ’98, ’13, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’24, ‘25
Playoff record: 10-10
Aug. 14 vs. Jensen Beach (Kickoff Classic), 7 p.m.
Aug. 21 at Carrollwood Day 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 28 at Heritage, 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 at Seminole, 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 at Rockledge, 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Cocoa, 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 at Astronaut, 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 vs. Carol City, 7 p.m.
Oct. 9 vs. Merritt Island, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 at Titusville, 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 vs. Palm Bay, 7 p.m.
Oct. 30 vs. Vero Beach, 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Tour of Brevard: Eau Gallie primed to contend for state championship
Continue reading...
After reaching a regional final last year, the Commodores look to contend for the school’s first state championship with an uber-talented team.
“(Practice) has been great. The competitiveness is elite, so every day we go out there it’s a chance to get better,” Eau Gallie head coach Chris Sands said. “Our guys have really taken the opportunity to practice at a really high level to get us ready for the season.”
The Commodores reached the final eight last season, persevering through adversity that began with a season-ending injury to quarterback Joseph Allen in the first game of 2025.
“The takeaway was just fight through anything and understand trust us coaches to put our guys in the right situation to make plays,” Sands said. “Obviously, we did that. We came up short for the state title, but at the end of the day with the adversity we faced, I was really happy with the way our guys fought.”
Eau Gallie features one of the deepest and most-talented teams in the state, with numerous Division I recruits. With all that talent comes great challenges for Sands and the coaching staff to find roles.
“Since we’ve been here nine years ago, it’s the best 11 who will play whether it’s the same 11 or different 11 week in and week out in practice. We are going to evaluate and try to get our best 11 on the field,” Sands said. “If we have that mentality that it doesn’t matter if you are five-star Gabriel Player or a kid that’s walking onto campus for the first time as a freshman, the best player is going to play.”
Despite Allen’s injury, Eau Gallie averaged 30.2 points per game. Allen returns under center after throwing for 2,376 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2024. The receiving core includes senior Lukas Viselli, juniors Zay Hawkins and Tay Johnson and Cocoa transfer Troy Silberzahn.
In the backfield, the Commodores will be led by sophomore X’Zavier Corbin. Last year, he rushed for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“As talented as those guys are, they just have to understand it might not always be their day. At the end of the day, their day will come,” Sands said. “Our guys are unselfish. They want what’s best for our team. Those guys are prepared to take that challenge and make sure they’re going to make plays when they’re given to them.”
The Commodores' defense return plenty of playmakers, including senior Kayden Jaquez, junior Gabriel Player and sophomore Captain Rolle. The defense allowed 17.5 points per game a year ago.
Jaquez led the team with 122 tackles last season. Player posted 59 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Rolle tied for the team lead with 8 passes defended last season and intercepted 3 passes, which is tied for the most among returners.
“I’ve never seen a defense at the high school level as talented as we are. We have six Division I defensive backs, we have the No. 1 linebacker in the country, we have the No. 1 cornerback in the country,” Sands said. “We have guys all over the field that just week-in and week-out make plays. I know as an offensive guy in practice how hard it is for us to move the ball with all our talent. I can’t imagine what teams are going to do against our defense on Friday nights.”
Eau Gallie opens the regular season on Aug. 21 at Carrollwood Day in Tampa. With the championship aspirations comes pressure, and Sands said it’s important for every player to do their part and prepare the correct way.
“Health is a huge thing in any high school program if they want to win a state title. Obviously, we have a lot of new faces. Just having our guys come together as a team, having them buy into what us coaches are trying to give them. I think it will be huge,” Sands said. “It’s going to be a long season. We don’t play a 10-game season here. We play a 13, 14-game season. It’s just taking it week by week. At the end of the day, it’s expecting to perform every day in practice will go such a long way on Friday nights.”
Head coach: Chris Sands enters his ninth season in charge of Eau Gallie.
Postseason history: Eau Gallie reached the state semifinals in 2024.
Playoff seasons: ’95, ’98, ’13, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’24, ‘25
Playoff record: 10-10
2026 Eau Gallie High Schedule
Aug. 14 vs. Jensen Beach (Kickoff Classic), 7 p.m.
Aug. 21 at Carrollwood Day 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 28 at Heritage, 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 at Seminole, 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 at Rockledge, 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Cocoa, 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 at Astronaut, 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 vs. Carol City, 7 p.m.
Oct. 9 vs. Merritt Island, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 at Titusville, 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 vs. Palm Bay, 7 p.m.
Oct. 30 vs. Vero Beach, 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Tour of Brevard: Eau Gallie primed to contend for state championship
Continue reading...
