Titusville Terrier Football

Congratulations to our Varsity Football team!! Huge 37-3 win over Astronaut in the Battle for The Hudson Trophy 🏆

Rivalry Week!!
Let’s Go Terriers 🐾 🐶

BSN FOOTBALL: 54TH ANNUAL BATTLE FOR THE HUDSON TROPHY, A CITY DIVIDED BY 2.8 MILES AND OVER A HALF CENTURY OF HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

By: Brevard Sports Network

When you cross the Addison-Ellis Canal this week going north on I-95 and feel a certain buzz in the air that’s because there’s something special about Titusville during rivalry week.

The flags, the chatter, the colors, maroon and gold on one side, blue and yellow on the other. For one night every fall, this North Brevard town becomes the epicenter of passion, pride, and pure high school football.

On Thursday night, the 54th Battle for the Hudson Trophy kicks off at Al Werneke Field, where Titusville and Astronaut will once again collide in one of Brevard County’s most historic rivalries, a rivalry separated by 2.8 miles, one zip code, and decades of emotion.

A RIVALRY BUILT ON HISTORY AND FAMILY

Since 1972, this game has been more than just football. It’s a game that involves families, classmates and friends and maybe on opposite sides.

Both schools, Astronaut High (800 War Eagle Blvd) and Titusville High (150 Terrier Trail South) share not only a town but a deep interwoven history.

The War Eagles lead the all-time series 36–17, but the Terriers have flipped the script, winning the last three meetings by a combined 104–6, their first three-game streak over Astronaut in over two decades.

This isn’t just another rivalry, it’s a generational one.

The Henry H. Hudson Memorial Trophy, named for the longtime Star-Advocate publisher who moved to Titusville in 1925 and covered local sports for nearly half a century, symbolizes more than victory. It’s about legacy. About who carries the city’s bragging rights until the next fall Friday night rolls around.

THE DIESEL LEGACY RETURNS

This year’s game carries a storyline straight out of a football movie.

For the first time since 2003, a Diesel is once again leading the Terriers.

Matt Diesel, a 2000 Titusville graduate who once played under his father Dan Diesel (the Terriers’ head coach for 13 seasons), has brought energy and his Dad and brother Scott back to the rivalry as coaches.

For Matt, this rivalry isn’t just another date on the calendar, it’s part of who he is.

“The game for the Hudson Trophy has been a big part of my life,” Diesel told BSN.

“I remember very vividly as a child going to the games at Draa Field when my Dad was an assistant. My first real memory that I can still recall of the game was 1988, we played on a Saturday morning due to mosquitoes carrying and spreading encephalitis. Titusville won that game.”

“In the end this has been a game that has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It’s one of those games you keep tabs on even if you are not currently involved in coaching or playing at the program as an alumni, so I always kept close tabs on it

Now, Matt has a chance to keep the Hudson Trophy right where it’s been the last three years in the Titusville fieldhouse.

How much would it mean to keep the Hudson Trophy at Titusville to Coach Diesel ?

“It will mean the world to me to have our score from Thursday night’s game carved into the side of the Hudson Trophy for me with a Titusville Terrier win, and knowing I was the head coach of that team.”

The Terriers enter this one hungry, sitting around the No. 7 seed line in the regional playoff race, while Astronaut guided by third-year head coach Logan Hallock needs a win to possibly avoid missing the postseason.

In short: this game matters — not just for pride, but for playoff survival.

THE HALLOCKS AND A CITY THAT BREATHES FOOTBALL

For Logan Hallock, this one is personal too. Logan is the nephew of the late Randy Hallock, the legendary War Eagles coach who led Astronaut for nearly two decades and helped shape the culture of War Eagles football before passing away in 2020.

Randy’s teams won 133 games and five district championships and the Hudson Trophy a lot.

And in a twist that ties this rivalry even deeper together, the grandfather of Randy Hallock and great-grandfather of Logan Hallock was actually a cousin of Henry Hudson, the very man whose name is etched on the trophy these two schools battle for every year.

Hudson’s middle name is Hallock. That means the bloodlines of this rivalry don’t just run through Titusville, they run through the name on the trophy itself.

That’s Titusville football. Generations bound by blood, legacy, and a shared love for the game, even when they’re on opposite sidelines.

And then there are families like the Gadapees, living proof that this rivalry runs deeper than any scoreboard.

In 1987, Brett Gadapee quarterbacked Astronaut to a 20-point second-half comeback win in this rivalry.

Thirty years later, his son Chace Gadapee was under center for a War Eagles 28–14 victory over the Terriers, playing the same position his dad once did, against the same school.

There are countless stories like that across town. Cousins, siblings, even parents who once lined up on opposite sidelines now sit in the same bleachers cheering for a new generation.

This isn’t any ol rivalry. This one is different. This is Titusville — a rivalry that’s not split by county lines, but by backyards.

THE GRIDIRON THAT BINDS A COMMUNITY

From Draa Field, where both teams once shared home turf, to Jay Donnelly Field at Storey-Taylor Stadium to Al Werneke Field, where the lights will glow again Thursday night, this rivalry has been the heartbeat of North Brevard football for over half a century.

The first-ever meeting? Titusville won it, 9–0. The last game at Draa Field in 2006? Titusville won that one too, 13–9, snapping a 14-game Astronaut streak.

Now, 54 years later, the names have changed but the meaning hasn’t.

The Hudson Trophy isn’t just a piece of hardware. It’s history. It’s heritage. It’s proof that football still means something real in Titusville.

And when the whistle blows Thursday night, every cheer, every hit, and every touchdown will echo through a community that’s been built on this game.

BSN SAYS:
Fifty-four years. One city. Two schools. One trophy.

It’s rivalry football at its purest and Titusville will be rocking Thursday night.

THIS POST SPONSORED BY ORANGE PEST CONTROL 🍊🍊🍊🍊

Let’s hear for your JV Terrier Football team!!!

Big win tonight in a monsoon rain storm over crosstown rival Astronaut 💙🏈💪

Tune in 📺

This Friday at 9 AM FOX 35 News on Good Day Orlando will be featuring our school for a LIVE dueling pep rally as we get excited about the upcoming game against EGHS!

Great start to the season for The Terriers!!!

47-7 WIN💙💛

The Terrier Football team and Managers had a great team bonding night! Big thanks to Coach Murray for making it happen!!

Your Titusville Terriers at Media Day! 📸 🐾

Big Thanks to Brevard Sports Network and Dan LaForest!!