By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

When Osceola and Harmony square off today at 7:30 p.m. at Longhorn field, the game for the first time will count in the district standings.

Osceola, 5-1 and 2-0, was off last week while the 2-5 and 1-1 Longhorns lost, 37-7, at Melbourne Central Catholic.

Kowboys Coach Doug Nichols said his team is primed for the second half of the season.

“It’s looking pretty good. We gave the kids Friday off and now we’re ready to get back into it,” Nichols said.

Harmony Coach Jerrad Butler said his team played better in the second half last week, but that didn’t make up for a poor first-half that saw the team fall behind by five touchdowns.

“It was a tale of two halves. We came out flat, but in the second half we played more to our abilities,” Butler said. “We regrouped and did some positive things.”

One of those positive things was a 70-yard TD pass from Jeremiah Murray to Cody Barkley.

Harmony continues to suffer from a rash of injuries. Butler said quarterback Alex Britton, receiver Tony Ellis and running back Forrest Osbourne all suffered significant injuries and are out this week.

“It definitely hurts. We’ve had a lot of injuries, but at this point of the season everyone does,”Butler said. “We have to put that behind us and be ready to play. I think our kids understand the team concept. Every person has to step in and fill a need and do the best he can.”

The Kowboys will play without junior lineman Darrin Brackbill, who underwent an appendectomy Sunday.

“I’m not sure what his status is. Hopefully it won’t be long,” Nichols said. “He’s a real smart kid who can play just about every position.”

The Kowboys bring one of Central Florida’s best running attacks to Harmony, led by county rushing leader Stafon McCray (81-674, 7 TDs). Osceola averages over 250 yards rushing per game.

Osceola is tied with Liberty for the district lead. Nichols doesn’t expect the Longhorns to roll over. Last year, the Kowboys scored late to win, 14-7.

“They can tell you what they want, but they’ll come out ready to play. They’ll play hard every snap because that’s the way their kids are,” Nichols said.

Butler said the Kowboys are one of the most talented teams in the area.

“I know they aren’t going to hold anything back against us. It’s a district game and they’re going to come after us hard,” Butler said. “That’s the way it should be.”