Too Many Turnovers

Home

High School Football

Too Many Turnovers

Sports

Other Sun Publications

FREE DELIVERY!
Get Free Delivery! Request your Osceola News Gazette Today.

Login Form

2013 Summertime Fun

Osceola Hurricane Handbook 2013

2013 Sexual Predator Sexual Offender List sexualpredatorcover13

Windows on the Classroom June 2013

School Calendar
2012-2013

View our other Special Sections

Too Many Turnovers

Sports

Wednesday, 12 December 2012 13:08

News Gazette Photos/James Hight

Osceola linebackers Mikeice Adams (10) and Jose Sanchez (11) with help from lineman Peter Bailey (top) sandwich Lincoln running back Ben Robinson Friday at Kowboys field at the Class 7A state semifinal.

Kowboys defense stellar in semifinal defeat to Trojans

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
For 13 Friday nights, Osceola’s Kowboys walked off the football field as the winners.
Today, they feel like it should have been 14.
But, an uncharacteristic hail of turnovers against Tallahassee Lincoln last week cost the Kowboys their first loss, 24-17, and, more painfully, a berth at Friday’s Class 7A championship game at the Citrus Bowl.
Had OHS, 13-1, stopped the turnover derby at four, it probably would be facing off against Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in what would have been a rematch of the 2007 state title game.

But, the Kowboys committed two more turnovers in the last 7:35, giving the Trojans two opportunities too many. Lincoln converted those mistakes, a fumble and an interception, into a field goal and a game-clinching pick-6 touchdown that snapped a 14-all tie.
Osceola Coach Doug Nichols said the Kowboys have no excuses, because they know how to win: “It’s no secret. Run the ball, play defense, don’t make mistakes.”
OHS ran well enough, with over 250 yards rushing; and the defense was extraordinary, mostly shutting down the high-powered Lincoln offense even though the Trojans took possession inside the Kowboys 40 on five occasions, three times inside the 20. The Trojans did not score a point during any of those opportunities.
“I’ve never been so proud of a bunch,” OHS defensive coordinator Scott Spencer said. “They played a lot of football with their backs to the wall, and they didn’t flinch. They’re fighters. I’m so proud of the people I coached with this year, and so proud of these kids. I’ve never been so proud in my life.”
When OHS did move the ball on offense, several of those opportunities were interrupted by 11 penalties for 80 yards.
“It’s (the penalties) the same old problem we’ve been battling all year,” Nichols said. “That’s on me.”
Ironically, Osceola didn’t commit a turnover during its first three regional football playoff games.
Lincoln’s Brian Crews, who twice missed field goals in the third quarter, connected from 35 yards to put Lincoln on top for the first time, 17-14, with 5:13 to play, following a fumble at the Kowboys’ 26.
After the teams exchanged punts, Lincoln defensive back Kendall Randolf picked off a deflected pass and returned it 20 yards for the clinching touchdown with just 2:33 to play.
OHS quarterback Daequan Harrison then led a drive that carried to the Trojans’ 7 before Nichols called for Cristano Nogueras to kick a 25-yard field goal on second down with 15 seconds to play, making it a one score game, 24-17.
But, the onside kick failed, and Lincoln ran out the clock.
The Kowboys outgained the Trojans, 267-239, and senior running back Stafon McCray closed out his high school career with a 21-carry, 137-yard performance that included a 33-yard TD dash on the first play of the third quarter, putting the Kowboys ahead, 14-7. Hassan Childs’ 60-yard kickoff return set up the touchdown.
But Lincoln, as it did the first time OHS scored, countered immediately when Ben Robinson dashed 56 yards for a score on Lincoln’s first play of the second half to tie it at 14 with just 36 seconds gone.
Tay Small’s 5-yard run in the second quarter put OHS on top, 7-0, capping an 80-yard drive, but Lincoln countered on a 65-yard, six-play drive asy Robinson (25-121, 2 TDs) scored from the 1.
The Kowboys could have taken the lead with 2:45 left in the first quarter when they caught the Trojans off-guard on a fake field goal attempt from the Lincoln 23, but a pass to the wide-open receiver was incomplete.
OHS kept the Trojans’ touted passing game in check, constantly pressuring quarterback Cameron Joseph (9-24-81) into hurried, off-target passes.
“These kids have nothing to be ashamed of. This is the first time this season they’ve had to feel that pain (of a loss). I feel bad for our seniors because they are a great bunch. This was a special group, like I’ve said all season, and they deserved every bit of success and recognition that they earned,” Nichols said. “When we walked off that field, I had no regrets about anything we did. I can’t believe how hard our kids played.”
The Kowboys lose many important players to graduation, starting with the 1-2 backfield duo of Stafon McCray and Tay Small, who accounted for over 2,800 rushing yards. Offensive linemen Josh Phelps and Tyler Evans also depart.
“I think we squeezed every single bit we could have from our offensive line,” Nichols said. “Those guys gave us everything they had.”
But, Harrison, running backs Scooter Fagan and Ladarrien Wilson, just a freshman, and linemen Kevin Mendez, Carlos Maxwell and Malik Howard along with tight end Santiago Hoffman all return.
The defense loses standout linemen Peter Bailey and Darren Brackbill, who played on an injured knee last week, to graduation, but Jaquan Dockery, Dalton Banton and Derek Rivers return with plenty of experience.
The Kowboys lose Jose Sanchez and David Stallworth at linebacker, but junior Mikeice Adams and sophomore Riley Nicholson, who missed the last seven games due to injury, return along with Shayvai Gordon, who filled in for Nicholson and played well.
“I don’t feel bad at all looking at Mikeice, Riley and Shayvai back there next year,” Nichols said.
Defensive backs Hassan Childs, who had eight interceptions, and Brandon Baker were exceptional and will be missed, but OHS should be solid with James Farley, Juaquan Jenkins and several more underclassmen who are waiting their turn, Nichols said.
Injuries and late-season suspensions forced the Kowboys to replace as many as six defensive starters for some playoff games, so many young players earned a lot of playoff experience.
“The juniors took this loss hard, and that’s good. They’ll remember that pain and it should help us get ready for next year,” Nichols said. “They just have to remember that when you’ve had a season like this, when you’ve won 13 times, that there is a little bit of luck and good fortune mixed in there and you can’t always count on things breaking your way.”
The Kowboys benefitted by having four home playoff games, which almost is unheard of.
“That didn’t hurt,” Nichols said. “These guys know that you’ve got to be prepared for every game. We’re going to miss these seniors because they are a great group, but I think we have a good chance to be pretty good again.”
Notes: Kowboys 1998 state champion Coach Jim Scible drove from Alabama to see the state semifinal game. “You couldn’t keep me away from this one,” he said.
The Kowboys’ 13-1 record ties them with the 1999 squad for the second-best overall record in team history. OHS was 14-1 in 2007. Scible’s 1998 state champs finished with a 13-2 record.