By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

It was hard to tell Osceola and Lake Gibson were playing a spring classic football game Thursday at Kowboys field.

The starters for both sides played the whole way in a game that had midseason intensity.

Osceola, taking advantage of a potent ground game, outslugged the talented Braves, 21-14, when quarterback Kieron Williams ran 31 yards on an option play with 10:20 to play for the winning touchdown.

The run capped a three-play, 78-yard drive that started with a 43-yard run by workhorse running back Stefan McCray, who carried 14 times for 139 yards.

“I’m glad that Kieron decided to keep it on that one, because their defensive end, the 90 kid (Michael Gonzalez), who was up field on us all night, was right there and he would have taken our back’s head off,” Osceola Coach Doug Nichols said. “Fortunately, Kieron saw that, planted and turned it up.”

The Braves had a chance to tie, moving from their 30 to the Osceola 10 in the last 1:48. On third and goal from the 10 with 11 seconds to play, rising sophomore quarterback Trey Congdon threw an out-pattern, but Kowboys defensive back Brandon Baker, a rising junior, saw the pass, stepped up, and made a game-saving interception.

The Kowboys rushed for 247 of their 259 total yards, barely out-gaining Lake Gibson (245 total yards).

Explosive running back Reggie Hall, a rising senior, scored Osceola’s first two touchdowns on runs of 25 and 33 yards, both bursts around end.

Hall’s first TD run capped a 65-yard drive on the Kowboys’ first possession of the night.

The Braves countered when Congdon (10-20-150, 1 TD) hit Eric Carter for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 1:30 to play in the first period.

The score remained tied at 7 at the half before the Braves took a 14-7 lead on Congdon’s 1-yard sneak early in the third quarter.

The Kowboys appeared to tie the score when Williams hit Hassan Childs for a 53-yard touchdown pass, but holding nullified the score. OHS was flagged eight times for 89 yards.

But, Osceola’s defense held and after the Braves punted to their 33, Hall dashed for his second TD to tie it at 14 with 2:04 left in the third quarter. Timmy Elsterman kicked all three PATs.

The Kowboys defense held again, setting up the winning score.

Nichols said he and Braves Coach Keith DeMyer decided to play to win, rather than follow the usual spring game format that sees plenty of substitutions in the second half.

“This is going to do us a whole lot more good than losing 40-0, or winning 40-0,” Nichols said. “We got to see how people would react at crunch time, and that is going to help us down the road. We’ll have a chance to see everyone else play later on.”

Nichols liked what he saw of an impressive OHS offensive line that opened holes in Lake Gibson’s formidable defensive front most of the game.

“Their defensive line is one of the best in the state, one publication has them ranked No. 1 in the state,” Nichols said. “Three of their four guys have D-I commitments. They’re monsters.”

The downside for OHS Thursday was the loss of defensive backs Peter Bailey, a rising junior, and Mikeice Adams, who will be a sophomore, to knee injuries.

Adams was to undergo surgery Friday for a broken bone and may be available for the regular season, but Nichols fears that Bailey’s ACL injury will keep him out next season.

But overall, it was a productive night for a Kowboys program that has made the playoffs four straight years, and will be a 7A District 6 favorite next season.

“We played pretty well,” Nichols said. “There are definitely some things we need to work on, but it was a good game.”

Two other county teams played spring games Thursday.

Celebration lost, 20-0, at Auburndale after lightning cut the game short in the third quarter.

Coach Ben Aarestad said his team knows that there is work ahead.

“Last year (in the spring game), we played well against Poinciana and the kids may have thought they were better than they were,” he said. “We talked after the game and I think the kids got mad and we'll have a better summer program than last year.”

Two turnovers led to short fields and easy scores for the Bloodhounds. The Storm gave a bulk of the work at quarterback to rising sophomore Quentin Lewis.

“We had four (turnovers). We didn't do a lot of what we wanted to on offense,” Aarestad said. “Quentin had some nice runs. We need to mold him into a starting quarterback this summer and fall.”

Poinciana hosted Orange City University for its spring classic Thursday.

Quarterback Michael Cirino ran for the Eagles only touchdown in a 35-6 setback at Eagle field.

Ken Jackson contributed to this story.