By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Osceola posted its fourth shutout of the season and won the 7A District 6 championship for the second straight year, 28-0, in a showdown against Gateway Friday before 2,000 fans at the Ridenour Athletic Complex.

The Kowboys, 9-0 and 5-0, will host Lakeland in the first round of the regional playoffs Nov. 16. Lakeland lost to Ridge Community, 7-0, Friday in District 7A-5.

The loss was crippling to Gateway, which finished the season at 7-3 and 3-2. The Panthers, who were shooting for their first district championship and first playoff berth, lost the tiebreaker for second place to Harmony, a 26-20 winner over St. Cloud Friday. Harmony, 4-6 and 3-2, will travel to Ridge Community Nov. 16.

The Kowboys jumped to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter as Stafon McCray (18-129, 2 TDs) ran for touchowns of 25 and 13 yards.

Kowboys quarterback Daequan Harrison hit Santiago Hoffman for a 32-yard pass play on third-and-14 to spur a 65-yard drive for Osceola’s first touchdown. A punt that netted zero yards at the Panther 32 led to the Kowboys’ second score.

Gateway’s Zach Smith, the county’s rushing leader (1,521 yards), did all he could to keep the Panthers in the game. He finished with 149 yards on 14 carries, including a spectacular 32-yard run in the final period where he weaved through the Kowboys defense, but the Panthers never reached the red zone.

Osceola outgained the Panthers, 314-181, in a game that sometimes turned chippy, with each team drawing several major penalties for late hits or unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I don’t think that was a very good effort,” Kowboys Coach Doug Nichols said as he left the field Friday.

Nichols didn’t like the fact that his team made mental mistakes (six penalties for 70 yards) in a high-stakes game.

“You can’t let yourself get drawn into that stuff. We lost our focus,” he said. “If we did that in this game, what’s going to happen when we get into the big games down the road?”

One of those errors was a late-hit penalty that nullified an interception by Kowboys linebacker Jose Sanchez in the fourth quarter.

Sanchez said OHS expected a hard-hitting contest, especially since Gateway had to win to ensure a playoff spot.

“There was a lot of trash talking,” he said. “I know a lot of those guys. We knew what was coming.”

Gateway tried to close the gap in the second quarter, reaching the OHS 31, but on fourth-and-8, Peter Bailey’s 15-yard sack on Gateway quarterback Anthony Rodriguez killed the drive and set the Kowboys up at their 47.

Davante Small (10-68) ran 30 yards to the Panthers’ 23 on first down, and five plays later Harrison scored from the 1 on an option play. McCray ran for two points to make it 21-0 with 4:05 left in the half.

Gateway’s Hunter Webber intercepted a pass late in the half and the Panthers drove to the OHS 23, but another Bailey sack forced a third-and-18 situation and Kowboys linebacker Mikeice Adams intercepted on the next play to end the threat.

The Panthers successfully executed an onside kick to start the second half, but again the OHS defense responded as Randy Brown sacked Rodriguez for a 5-yard loss on third and 9.

The Panthers tried a little of everything to loosen the OHS defense, including using Smith as the quarterback in a Wildcat set, then switching to the power-I in the second half, but the Kowboys wouldn’t crack. Kowboys lineman Darren Brackbill smothered Smith for a 3-yard loss on a fourth-and-5 at the OHS 23 late in the third quarter to snuff the Panthers’ last major scoring threat.

“We practice hard to prepare for this,” Brown said. “I think we have a little more resolve this year.”

Laderrien Wilson’s 30-yard touchdown run with 1:39 to play was the icing on the cake, making it 28-0.

The Kowboys James Farley grabbed his fourth interception of the season in the fourth quarter.

Although Gateway’s Smith had more success than any back the Kowboys faced this season, OHS defensive lineman Jaquwan Dockery said the Kowboys got the job done.

“Our plan was to stop Zach. He’s a good back,” Dockery said. “He’s like Stafon in that they’re both speed backs. They’re different in that Stafon has more power up the middle.”

Coach Nichols said that despite his team’s sometimes inconsistent play Friday, the result was good.

“We’re in the playoffs,” he said.

The Kowboys, No. 6 in Class 7A and likely to move up after No. 5 Lakelandlost, wrap up the regular season at home against South Lake, a 66-56 winner over East Ridge, next week.