Unbeaten Osceola takes on Eagles

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
Although the 7A District 6 championship is safely tucked away, Osceola has important work to do Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Kowboys field against South Lake.

Friday’s 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 (18-127, 2 TDs) ran for touchdowns 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 (1,518 yards), did all he could to keep the Panthers in the game. He finished with 146 yards on 15 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.
Nichols didn’t like the fact that his team made mental mistakes (nine penalties for 85 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? It just seemed like we jumped out to that 21-0 lead and went to cruise control.”
One of those errors was a late-hit penalty that nullified an interception by Kowboys linebacker Jose Sanchez in the fourth quarter.
Sanchez, who had eight tackles, said OHS expected a hard-hitting contest.
“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.
“I thought Peter Bailey had one of his better games with a couple of sacks, and Jose Sanchez played well, too,” Nichols said. “It wasn’t that we didn’t play hard, it was more that we just kind of shut it down when we had the lead, and you can’t do that and be successful against the teams we’re going to be playing.”
Davante Small (8-71) 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.
Osceola’s James Farley grabbed his fourth interception of the season in the fourth quarter.
OHS defensive lineman Jaquwan Dockery said stopping Smith was a challenge.
“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.”
Nichols said Smith was impressive.
“I thought he was great for them. There were times when we seemed to have him shut down, but he’d find a seam and pick up some yards,” Nichols said. “A lot of his yards came after contact.”
Gateway Coach Marlin Roberts was disappointed.
“We’ve gotta keep our heads up. I thought our guys played hard. Zach had a great game. I blame this on coaching. We probably should have stuck with the things that worked,” Roberts said. “But, man, they are so fast on defense.”
For the first time in five games, Osceola did not force a running clock. The Kowboys shut out four of five 7A-6 foes. Liberty scored on a kick return on the final play of their game Oct. 26.
The Kowboys, No. 5 in Class 7A, face a South Lake squad that beat rival East Ridge, a 66-56, last week. Osceola beat East Ridge, 48-7, in week 5.
“A little of it was their offense, and a little of it was probably East Ridge’s defense,” Nichols said. “I asked the guys after practice Monday what they wanted to do. Last week it was the district championship. This week, it’s for the undefeated season. Everything they’ve worked for is right there in front of them.”