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Wednesday, 13 October 2010 13:17

OHSvsStCHS09_090310

News-Gazette Photo/Andrew Sullivan

Osceola’s Reggie Hall (2), seen here in a game at St. Cloud earlier this season, ran for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns at Lakeland George Jenkins last week during the Kowboys’ 35-28 win.

OHS sits atop 5A-4 by edging Jenkins

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
As regular season football victories go, it’s hard to find one more significant than Osceola’s 35-28 win at 5A District 4 rival Lakeland George Jenkins last week.
The victory, Osceola’s (3-3) third in a row, puts OHS in charge of the 5A-4 district race.
“Our kids did hang in there. They don’t have any quit in them,” Kowboys Coach Doug Nichols said.
The Kowboys, 1-0 in the three-team district, host Poinciana for homecoming Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Kowboys field.


Then, on Oct. 22, district heavyweight Lakeland, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, visits OHS. Osceola can clinch the district title by beating Lakeland.
Osceola and Jenkins traded touchdowns the first half of the game, which was marred by over 35 penalties.
“It was almost ridiculous. Frank Thomas (10-78, 1 TD) had an 80-yard run called back, but it wasn’t like all the penalties were on us, it was on both teams,” Nichols said.
The turning point came on Terrance Tatume’s 69-yard punt return for a touchdown midway in the third quarter that lifted OHS into a 28-all tie.
“It was huge, it was a lift to the team. The defense really got after it after that,” Nichols said.
Quarterback Kieron Williams’ 27-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, his only carry of the night, was the winning score.
Osceola rushed for 248 yards. Tatume had the team’s only pass reception, for 32 yards.
Jenkins’ first-year Coach Matt Thompson, with his team leading, 28-21, was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after a running play to Osceola’s 40-yard line before Tatume’s punt return. Thompson was protesting what he believed to be a hit out of bounds against his running back, Keke Wilson. Officials threw another flag against Thompson when he continued to protest.
Tatume’s punt return was the catalyst for an OHS victory for the second straight week. His 40-yard punt return against Harmony set up a tying touchdown in an eventual 14-7 OHS win on Oct. 1.
“T.J.’s return definitely gave us momentum. It was a good win at a place where the stands were pretty full. There was definitely a lot of excitement,” Nichols said.
The Kowboys took a 7-0 lead just 23 seconds into the game as Reggie Hall (16-143, 2 TDs) 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.
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 period.
Hall 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.
Clark, out two games because of a concussion, threw for 258 yards. He leads Polk County in passing yardage.
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.”
The OHS defense, for the third week in a row, blanked its opponent in the second half despite surrendering over 400 total yards.
“Bobby Jones and Patrick Bailey really played well, and Andrew Burkard had a big sack for us,” Nichols said. “Our guys do a good job of hanging in there and not giving up. I can’t tell you how many times they could have packed it in, the way things were going back and forth. I would hope that they’re feeling pretty good about themselves.”
Jones had 11 tackles, and Burkard’s sack gives him a team-leading four. D.D. Montgomery had a huge game at linebacker with 15 tackles, and Oscar McGee had an interception, his second of the season. Dontavious Wilcox, a sophomore defensive back, had nine tackles.
Nichols said it is a credit to his players that they have put themselves on the cusp of the playoffs after an 0-3 start.
“We’re getting better. Our offensive line gets a little better each week, and that gives us a chance to make some plays,” he said.
Poinciana, 0-5, lost at Harmony, 44-0, last week.
The Eagles gave up several big plays on special teams.
Coach Michael Timpson said many of his team’s problems stem from the fact that it is often out-manned.
“We just don’t have that many players. We’ve made some mistakes, but a lot of that is due to fatigue,” Timpson said. “We scored a lot of points against Florida Air (Academy two weeks ago), and why was that? We matched up with them.”
Timpson said regardless of whether his team is playing Osceola, Harmony, or anyone else, it needs time to develop in order to be competitive.
“It all comes down to whether you can block and tackle. We have kids in the program that don’t know how to do that when we get them,” he said. “It’s going to come. I can see improvement from week to week, but we need time.”
Nichols said Poinciana has several gamebreaker-types on its roster, such as quarterback Michael Cirino and versatile back Joey Decomo.
“You can see on the tape that they have some great athletes. They just have breakdowns that really hurt them,” he said.
Osceola will qualify for the regional playoffs for the fourth consecutive season if it beats Lakeland, or, if it loses to Lakeland and Lakeland beats George Jenkins Oct. 29.
The district also can potentially end in a three-way tie if Lakeland beats OHS, then loses to Jenkins.
In that case, the three teams would meet for a playoff Nov. 8 at a site to be determined.
Lakeland defeated Palm Bay Bayside Friday to remain unbeaten (6-0).
The 5A-4 champion plays host to the 5A-3 runner-up in the opening round of the playoffs.
 

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