COCOA BEACH

Hurricane Sandy may have washed out Friday night’s Homecoming contest, but the postponement didn’t dampen Cocoa Beach’s enthusiasm as they celebrated with a 42-27 victory against Eau Gallie on a crisp, moonlit Monday night at Minutemen Stadium.

It was Senior Night for Cocoa Beach and the departing players savored the moment as record-breaking quarterback David Dessent was nearly flawless, completing 20-of-25 attempts for 307 yards and six touchdowns.

Four scoring connections were to senior wideouts — Boone Lewis had two while Manny Shaw and Mike Riley each had one — in a special contest in which the game ball was dedicated to long-time Minutemen volunteer Les Stafford.

Dessent, a 6-foot-4, 250-pounder, has rewritten the Minutemen record books as a three-year starter. He has amassed 2,047 yards passing and 30 touchdowns this season to add to career marks for passing yards (4,836) and touchdowns (58).

“It was a team win, but you look at David (Dessent) and he has 30 touchdowns on the season, 30,” said Cocoa Beach head coach Tony Piccalo. “But what a night, I mean; just beautiful weather and we dedicated this win to Les (Stafford), who we are taking with us to Jones Friday night.”

Eau Gallie running back Jordan Benton, who entered the contest second in rushing on the Space Coast, ran for a game-high 126 yards and scored the Commodores only touchdown of the first half. The bruising tailback, along with quarterback Torrance Brown, spearheaded a second-half comeback attempt in which Eau Gallie scored 20 points.

The Minutemen improved to 7-1 record, which is their most successful start since the 8-1-1 team of 1968.

In a series dating back to 1964, the Minutemen’s inaugural season, Cocoa Beach leads 9-7, including a four-game winning streak that began in 2008. The Commodores last win was 57-0 in 2007.