By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

You can call this a rebuilding year if you want, but the Osceola Kowboys took a huge step toward a fourth consecutive regional playoff berth with a 35-28 come-from-behind 5A District 4 victory at Lakeland George Jenkins Friday.

Terrance Tatume’s 69-yard punt return midway through the third quarter tied the score at 28, and quarterback Kieron Williams ran 27 yards for the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Jenkins slips to 2-4 and 0-1 and must beat Lakeland to stay in playoff contention in the three-team district.

“The kids grew up a lot tonight,” OHS Coach Doug Nichols said. “I can’t tell you how many times they could have packed it in, but one thing about our kids is that they play hard, and they sure did tonight.”

The Kowboys took a 7-0 lead just 23 seconds into the game as Reggie Hall ran 30 yards for a touchdown.

But, Jenkins countered when quarterback Jadrian Clark passed 30 yards to Jaucady Rutledge for the first of their three TD connections to tie it at 7.

Frank Thomas scored on a 3-yard run to put OHS in front, 14-7, late in the first period, but Jenkins’ Jevonte Moore tied it with a 3-yard run just seconds into the second quarter.

Hall, who gained 179 yards on 19 carries, raced 65 yards to give OHS the lead again, 21-14, but Clark and Rutledge connected for two more touchdowns to give the Eagles a 28-21 halftime advantage.

Nichols said he told his team that it had to grow up in a hurry at halftime.

“It’s five weeks into the season, so it’s time to step up,” Nichols said. “We just told them to keep playing.”

For the second straight game, it was Tatume’s punt return that provided a spark. His 40-yard return last week lifted OHS to a 14-7 win against Harmony. This time, he went all the way for the touchdown and switched the momentum again, Nichols said.

“It was huge. It gave a boost to the kids, the defense started playing with a lot of enthusiasm,” Nichols said.

The OHS defense, for the third week in a row, blanked its opponent in the second half.

“We started rotating the defensive linemen a little more,” Nichols said.

Osceola stopped Jenkins on fourth-and-goal from the 6 with 5:36 remaining.

The Kowboys host Poinciana for homecoming next Friday before Lakeland, No. 3 in Class 5A, visits Kowboys stadium. The Dreadnaughts, 6-0, beat Palm Bay Bayside, 59-34, in a non-district game Friday.

The news Friday wasn't so good in Polk County for Celebration. which slipped to 2-4 after being blanked at Lakeland Tenoroc, 19-0.