Kowboys home for first time in 4 years

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Osceola plays its 11th football playoff game in five seasons Friday, and for a change, the Kowboys play the role of host.

Davenport Ridge Community, the 7A-5 district runner-up, comes to Kowboys field at 7:30 p.m. to take on the 9-1 Kowboys, the 7A-6 champs.

Osceola hasn’t hosted a playoff game since a 22-7 win over Lakeland in the 2007 regional semifinals during a season when the Kowboys played for the Class 5A state championship.

“It’s definitely nice to have one at home. It’s great for the community,” Kowboys Coach Doug Nichols said. “Our fans have been great all year. Our students have tailgate parties before the games and get wild, and it’s a great atmosphere. Our guys love it.”

The Bolts, 7-3, were off last week after losing to Lakeland, 41-7, for the district championship two weeks ago. Osceola and Ridge Community met during spring games in 2009 and 2010.

“We were tied at 14 with the varsity teams last year, which was my first game back here, and their JV team scored in the fourth quarter and they won, 20-14,” Nichols, who returned to OHS in the spring of 2010 after three seasons at Liberty, said. “They’re pretty much the same now as they were then.”

Osceola was impressive in winning, 29-14, at South Lake last Thursday despite playing without starting quarterback Kieron Williams and five defensive starters. Williams injured his foot in pregame warmups, leaving junior Deshawn Congreaves to lead the Kowboys. He raised his record to 3-0 as a starter this season. He also started against Ocoee and Bishop Moore during the first two weeks of the season.

“He didn’t know he was going to start until a couple minutes before the game. I guess that might have been the best way to do it,” Nichols said. “It’s good to have someone you can depend on to handle a situation like that.”

Stafon McCray, the county’s leading rusher (141-1,279, 15 TDs) ran 29 yards for a Kowboys TD and Reggie Hall and Devontae Small also scored as OHS won its seventh game in a row. Scooter Fagan passed 40 yards to Daequan Harrison for another Osceola TD.

Only a 10-0 loss at Palm Bay in week four marred a perfect record for the Kowboys.

“It really doesn’t bother our guys. We have five out on defense, and it’s like they don’t even notice. I don’t think they know any different. It’s a great team effort,” Nichols said.

Safety Dominique Davis, a senior, is questionable with a muscle pull for Friday’s game. Nichols expects the other injured players – Williams, linemen Peter Bailey and Dashon Montgomery, and defensive backs CC Smithson and Dalton Banton – to play.

The defense will key on Bolts quarterback  Shykeem Pitts, a dual threat who can break open any play, Nichols said.

“He’s real quick, slippery,” Nichols said.

The Bolts also have a prime time running back in Anthony Parnell, who has gained 1,021 yards.

But the Kowboys defense, led by senior linebacker Akim Francis, who leads the team with 102 tackles after making 14 hits at South Lake, has been hard to move against all season, giving up just 168 yards and 12.3 points per game.

Aside from Lakeland, Ridge Community lost to playoff teams Lake Gibson and Fort Meade.

“They’re a good team, solid. You can’t let up against them, they can score on any play,” Nichols said.

The same can be said of the Kowboys, who have game-breakers of their own in McCray, Hall, Small and Fagan, who returned two punts for touchdowns against St. Cloud in the game that decided the district title.

Making Osceola’s spread offense successful is a strong offensive line anchored by seniors Adam Stickel, Reggie Turner, Heath Rinkus, Cody Nelson and Bryan Hurtado.

The Kowboys average 287 yards rushing and 33.4 points per game.

“They’re like a college team,” Gateway Coach Marlin Roberts said before his team played Osceola Nov. 5. “Those guys are just huge and they push you out of the way, and they have that ridiculous speed in the backfield.”