Osceola vs. St. Cloud: Kowboys win streak at 4

Home

Other Sun Publications

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

Login Form

2013 Osceola Health

2013 Sexual Predator Sexual Offender List sexualpredatorcover13

Windows on the Classroom March 2013

School Calendar
2012-2013

View our other Special Sections

Osceola vs. St. Cloud: Kowboys win streak at 4

Sports

Wednesday, 01 September 2010 09:21

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
St. Cloud vs. Osceola is a football series of fits and starts.
St. Cloud has a fit and wins a game or two, then Osceola starts on another lengthy winning streak.
At least, that’s the way it has been over the past five decades of the series that began in 1925.

St. Cloud has won three in a row only once, from 1949-51. Since then, the Kowboys have had winning streaks of 11 (1963-73), eight (1996-2003) and the current four-game roll (2006-09). The Kowboys have won three in a row or more against St. Cloud eight times.
Osceola, which visits Gannarelli Field Friday at 7:30 p.m. for the 87th renewal of Florida’s fifth-oldest high school rivalry, leads the all-time series, 55-27-4.
The coaches for both teams have changed since St. Cloud’s last victory, 28-24, in 2005. Twice.
Doug Nichols, the longtime OHS assistant who started Liberty’s program in 2007, is Osceola’s coach, replacing Jeff Rolson, who never lost to St. Cloud.
St. Cloud Coach Bill Buldini, who replaced Mark Jackson in June, is getting another perspective of this series after a two-year stint as an Osceola assistant coach.
“It’s going to be different,” Buldini said. “They’ve got a new coaching staff and a different system (at OHS), but I still have friends that are coaches there and I’ve coached a lot of those kids.”
After losing by blowout scores from 2006-08, St. Cloud jumped to a 7-0 lead last season and threatened before mistakes ultimately resulted in a 32-20 loss.
But, if you think this series has lost intensity, two Bulldogs made it clear that beating Osceola remains job No. 1.
“It’s what we practice for. It’s definitely the game we want to win,” Bulldogs linebacker Jeff Spelman said.
Running back Irving Huggins said, “This is the big game for us. You always want to beat Osceola in any sport you play.”
The Bulldogs lost to Bishop Moore, 30-28, at the Kickoff Classic Friday, but that was counting a Hornets touchdown during the JV period.
“The offense played well. We’ve got a lot of options there and I think we’re going to be OK,” Buldini said. “We’ve got to play better defensively. We had a lot of alignment issues. When we lined up in the right place, we played well.”
Nichols said Osceola players remain interested because the Bulldogs are familiar foes.
“I don’t know why our guys wouldn’t want to beat St. Cloud. They are the guys you see all the time,” he said.
St. Cloud junior quarterback Phillip Steinmetz threw three touchdown passes and Eric Pfeiffer ran for another score. Brett Biller and Huggins each scored two-point conversions in the Kickoff Classic.
Buldini was impressed by the play of defensive lineman Kevin Ulysses and defensive back Melvin Manning. He said many of the team’s defensive lapses were caused by inexperience and a lack of game-planning.
“We’re playing a lot of new kids, and we didn’t prepare for (Bishop Moore), so it
wasn’t bad,” Buldini said. “Now, the focus is on Osceola. They’re quick, and Coach Nichols is doing a good job of preparing them, just like he did at Liberty.”
Buldini said his knowledge of Osceola’s players won’t necessarily be an advantage.
“Sure, I know some of them, but it’s a different system so I don’t know that it’s going to make a difference,” he said.
The Kowboys were solid in a 23-7 win at Longwood Lyman as senior Frank Thomas ran for two touchdowns and freshman Scooter Fagan ran for another. Cody Ausherman kicked a 27-yard field goal and a pair of extra points.
Nichols said it was a good start, but he also said it was just the beginning of a difficult journey for the Kowboys. Seven playoff teams fill the Kowboys’ schedule, including the first four games. After the Bulldogs, a district runner-up, the Kowboys play Dr. Phillips, Mainland and Agape Christian.
“We looked all right, but it’s hard to say,” Nichols said. “We’ll know a lot more at around 10:30 Friday night.”
Osceola will be without linebacker Akeem Francis, who separated his shoulder in practice last week.
“He’s out this week for sure; hopefully he’ll be back in a week or two,” Nichols said.
Nichols likes the progress that Keiron Williams, who rushed for 99 yards last week, is making at quarterback.
“He’s done a good job, he’s making the right reads,” Nichols said. “Right now we’re staying pretty base. It’s pretty much, “This is what we’ve got, let’s line up and play.’”
Nichols was impressed by his linemen.
“That probably was our strongest group,” he said.
Steinmetz may be one of the best throwers the Kowboys will see. He threw an 84-yard touchdown pass to open the game last season.
“He’s capable of making big plays like that,” Nichols said. “He’ll hurt you.”