- December 17, 2025
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Struggles once defined this program. Year after year, results underwhelmed far more often than they impressed.
It's a difficult reality to grasp. The Cougars have been so downright dominant as of late that it's easy to forget their not-so-prolific past.
But there was indeed a time when Cardinal Mooney football was more concerned with district titles than state titles. Sights were set not on undefeated seasons, but on winning seasons.
The recently minted three-time FHSAA state champions hadn't won it all in 51 years until 2023 came around.
When coach Jared Clark took over in February 2020, the team had finished 2-8 in the season prior. That ended with a six-game losing streak and no postseason berth.
There was improvement in Year 1, but marginal improvement, at best. Cardinal Mooney went 2-7 — again, losing six straight — and relied on strength of schedule to extend its season.
The group found itself in the then-Class 3A tournament. It came away with a regional quarterfinals victory and the collective sense that a better future really was possible.
Clark himself played quarterback for the Cougars in 1996-2000 and returned as an assistant for 2005-14. Buoyed by his own belief in the program, he embraced the coach's headset when offered the opportunity.
In his first few years, he sifted and sorted through the school's football talents, finding the guys who could meet or exceed his elevated standards.
He still looks back fondly on those foundational players. Linebacker JR Rosenberg, tight end/wide receiver Cameron Heald, quarterback Tayven Clark and offensive lineman Ryan Sugg were on the forefront, among others.
Cardinal Mooney jumped to an 8-3 regular season in 2021, but was promptly humbled by Bishop Verot in the regional quarterfinals, 39-0. And in Year 3 — the proverbial "prove-it" year for coaches — the Cougars were much of the same en route to a first-round exit in Class 1S and 4-7 finish.
Something changed in 2023, though.
All their wrongs turned to rights. Several switches were flipped.
The Cougars claimed their first state championship since 1972 while winning 10-plus games for the first time since 2006. And just like that, decades of disappointment faded away.
That moment, in and of itself, was massive. Clark and Co. took time to find — and retain — the most potent mixture of talent and execution. Their labor was rewarded.
Back then, it was quarterback Michael Valentino, wide receiver Zy'marion Lang and running back/wide receiver Carson Beach powering the offense. Cornerback/wide receiver Teddy Foster, linebacker/tight end George Leibold and linebacker Jacob Brown were feared faces in the eyes of opponents.
That vaunted group of seniors put Cardinal Mooney back on Florida's football map. And that breakthrough brought residual success with it.
In this day and age, winning state titles means winning the battle of transfers.
Leading up to 2024, defensive end Elijah Golden came over from IMG Academy, quarterback Davin Davidson from Sarasota and wide receiver Kymistrii Young from Parrish Community. There was also offensive lineman Max Polivchak from Out-of-Door Academy and safety/wide receiver LaRon Foye from Hurricane High in West Virginia.
They weren't the only players to choose the Cougars. Every one of them, though, would stamp their names on the team's latest championship.
Cardinal Mooney didn't go back-to-back behind an influx of transfers. It lost in the 2024 Class 2A state semifinals, but it also didn't have to worry about a reload.
Talent returned in droves. This season, 25 of 56 varsity players were seniors.
Seven of them signed early with Division I programs — Golden to Notre Dame, Young to North Carolina, Polivchak to Presbyterian, safety/cornerback Macaiden Brown to Liberty, edge Zackery Samuel Jr. to Mercer, edge Bryce Fulda to Western Kentucky and offensive lineman Ethan Salata to Stetson.
That doesn't even account for running back Connail Jackson and quarterback Devin Mignery, two driving forces behind a commanding Cougars offense these past two seasons.
Just as it's easy to forget a time when Cardinal Mooney struggled to compete, it's hard to believe this is Jared Clark's first head-coaching gig.
He had never been in charge of a varsity football program before 2020. Now, he's one of just two coaches in program history with 50 wins, and has accumulated 38 of them since 2023. Clark has more than earned his flowers.
The Cougars went 4-7 in 2022. They've lost a grand total of four games ever since, assembling a remarkable three-year run featuring not one, but two state championships.
It took three years beforehand to learn winning ways. They had to understand trials and tribulations before they could triumph.
What a ride it's been.
