Big defensive plays and two scores on that side of the ball helped Osceola break open a scoreless game in the second quarter and roll to a 40-14 win at Olympia in its District 8A-9 opener that was delayed an hour by a lightning delay -- stop us if you've heard that before.
Safety Bo Mascoe intercepted three passes -- all in the second quarter, when the Kowboys (2-1) scored 21 points in less than five minutes -- to spark the win.
"We knew the offense was struggling a little bit," said Mascoe, who also had a huge kick return for a score in the one-point loss to Cocoa that kept Osceola in the game. "We thought if we could get a score on defense it would loosen the offense up."
Mascoe's first interception halfway through the second quarter turned the tide of the game after a pair of Kowboys turnovers of their own held them back in the first quarter. He snagged the deep ball, made two guys miss then broke two other tackles and scored on a 70-yard return.
A minute later, he pulled another C.J. Brooks pass out of the air at the Titans' 19, and three plays later Ja'Randy Swint scored from 11 yards out. After a John Walker sack forced a punt, Jeremiah Wilson blocked it, giving Osceola the ball at the 1, and Taevion Swint took it in on the next play. Olympia (1-2) returned the ensuing kickoff into Osceola territory, but Mascoe shut down that drive with his third pick.
"Bo is a great kid that works hard at his craft in practice, and what you saw on the field was the fruits of his labor," OHS Coach Eric Pinellas said. "He kept us afloat when we were hurting ourselves on offense with turnovers and penalties."
The Titans scored on their first possession of the second half on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that took over six minutes to make it 21-7, but it's as close as they'd get. Quarterback Chad Mascoe punctuated next drive with a three-yard TD run, Taevion Swint would added a 15-yard TD run in the fourth, and Drevon Lee would score another for the defense on a 80-yard fumble return scoop-and-score.
The defense got those four turnovers and held Olympia to two rushing yards on 17 carries. Offensively, the Kowboys rushed 39 times for 189 yards.
"Our really young offensive line played well missing a couple guys," Pinellas said, noting the line was two sophomores and two juniors who didn't start the Kickoff Classic four weeks ago. "I don't know if our mistakes early were because of the delay, but we'll get back to work and get better this week."
Osceola now embarks on a stretch of three games in eight days starting Friday, when it travels to Bradenton Manatee. Then the Kowboys play the rescheduled game against St. Cloud Monday the 27th, then face Windermere four days later.
