The Palm Bay High Pirates and their two state football titles

Palm Bay High School’s football team, the Pirates, has won two Florida state championships, both under coach Dan Burke, according to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s championship records:

Season	Class	Result
2000	6A	Palm Bay 10, Dillard 6
2002	4A	Palm Bay 19, Jefferson 10

Four straight semifinals against Lincoln

From 1999 through 2002 Palm Bay reached the state semifinals four years running, and every time the team waiting there was Lincoln High of Tallahassee, coached by David Wilson.

Season	Class	Semifinal	How it ended
1999	6A	Lincoln 24, Palm Bay 21	Lincoln won the title, 21-14 over Miami Southridge
2000	6A	Palm Bay 21, Lincoln 20 (OT)	Palm Bay won the title, 10-6 over Dillard
2001	4A	Lincoln 24, Palm Bay 21	Lincoln won the title, 28-20 over St. Thomas Aquinas
2002	4A	Palm Bay 44, Lincoln 21	Palm Bay won the title, 19-10 over Jefferson

The two losses came by the same score, two years apart, and both times Lincoln went on to win the championship. Across the four seasons Palm Bay won 16 playoff games and lost two, both to Lincoln.

The two title runs

Round	2000 (Class 6A)	2002 (Class 4A)
Regional quarterfinal	Palm Bay 10, Riverview (Sarasota) 0	Palm Bay 47, Mitchell (New Port Richey) 14
Regional semifinal	Palm Bay 28, Santaluces 0	Palm Bay 42, Belleview 0
Regional final	Palm Bay 28, Gaither 7	Palm Bay 49, Land O’Lakes 14
State semifinal	Palm Bay 21, Lincoln 20 (OT)	Palm Bay 44, Lincoln 21
Final	Palm Bay 10, Dillard 6	Palm Bay 19, Jefferson 10

The 2000 team won with defense: two shutouts in five games and 33 points allowed in all. The 2002 team scored 201 points in five playoff games. Neither final was close to home. The 2000 championship was played at the University of Florida in Gainesville against Dillard of Fort Lauderdale, and the 2002 game at Florida State University in Tallahassee against Jefferson of Tampa.

Among Brevard’s champions

The FHSAA lists state titles for other Brevard schools: Melbourne in 1966; Merritt Island in 1972, 1978 and 1979; Titusville in 1982 and 1983; Rockledge in 2001 and 2002; and Cocoa seven times between 2008 and 2024. In 2002 Brevard had state champions in two classes at once: Rockledge in Class 3A and Palm Bay in Class 4A.

The city the school is named for is on our population page.

Further Reading

• Florida: A Short History by Michael Gannon