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Horns blank OHS in flag; take charge of OBC race PDF Print E-mail
Sports
Thursday, 15 April 2010 07:53
By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
The good news for Osceola’s flag football team is that it’s back as a district tournament qualifier for the first time in three years.
The bad news is that because of a 20-0 loss to rival Harmony  Tuesday, the Longhorns have defended the Orange Belt Conference title, their third in four years.
Harmony (6-1) got its usual defensive presence, picking off four Kowgirl passes (giving it 13 on the season) and earned its sixth shutout. Osceola (5-1) didn’t complete a pass until midway through the second quarter.
Longhorn quarterbacks Tori Keelean and Kaylee Horn combined to complete 18 of 28 passes.
HHS Coach Paul Strauch said his team gave another strong effort, the kind he’s seen all season.
“We’ve given up 12 points all year, I can’t ask anything more out of the defense,” he said, referencing a 12-6 loss to undefeated Dr. Phillips before spring break. “We’ve got four girls who can play quarterback, and three of them played tonight. With Tori in there, we were able to just chew away with short routes.”
The Longhorns, now 5-0 in the OBC, can make it a clean sweep, their second in a row, with a win tonight at St. Cloud (3-3) at 7 p.m.
“It’s a big game, the kids want to be undefeated in the county again,” Strauch said.
Harmony assumed control of the game on the third play, when Alyssa Miceli intercepted a pass, her first of two, and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown. Jordan Ashcraft caught the conversion pass to make it 7-0 less than a minute into the game.
It was 14-0 after the Longhorns made another defensive stop and finally got its offense on the field and Keelean hit Sam Van Tassel in the end zone from 25 yards out.
Maria Lopez intercepted a pass for Osceola near the end of the second quarter, and the offense drove down the field, but Keelean stopped the drive with an interception in the end zone.
In the third quarter, Harmony got its final score when Horn double-clutched and tossed a bullet to a slanting Marie Gilbert for a 20-yard TD play.
Kassandra Brady also had an interception for Harmony, and Liane Montalvo had two sacks. Solima Torres had two sacks for Osceola.
OHS Coach Brian Lambert said that his team gave Harmony opportunities to score.
“Harmony played well and we made too many mistakes on offense,” he said. “I believe we’ll see them again in the district tournament. I’m still very proud of my girls’ efforts this season.”
The District 8 tournament, hosted by Harmony April 27-28, will likely see an Osceola-Harmony rematch in the game pitting the No. 2 and 3 seeds. Dr. Phillips, who beat Gateway, 15-6, Tuesday, locks up the No. 1 spot with a win tonight at Osceola. Should the Kowgirls win, it creates a  three-way tie. The top four teams qualify.
Harmony, the defending district champion plays at Seabreeze and Apopka on Friday and Monday.
 

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