By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Osceola carries a 2-0 record to Palm Bay Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, and the Kowboys are prepared for what may be their most challenging game of the season against the Pirates.

Palm Bay, 1-1, lost in overtime, 17-14, at Fort Pierce Central last week.

The Pirates are No. 10 in the Class 6A state poll.

The Kowboys looked shaky at times, impressive at others, during their 42-21 win against Bishop Moore at Kowboys field.

The Hornets, 1-1, led 14-0 early in the second period before Osceola’s defense turned it around by forcing four turnovers and blocking a punt, boosting the Kowboys to 35 unanswered points.

“They say a team makes the most improvement be-tween week 1 and week 2, and I guess we did get a little better,” Kowboys Coach Doug Nichols said.

The Kowboys had two touchdown runs called back by penalties on their first series, one of those a 95-yarder by Stafon McCray (11-132, 2 TDs).

The turning point came when sophomore OHS defensive back James Farley’s jarring third-down hit on Hornets receiver Austin Whan caused a fumble recovered by  Peter Bailey at the 50.

“Farley hit the guy hard, and that got us going,” Kowboys defensive coordinator Scott Spencer said.

Three plays later, McCray broke free for a 33-yard TD run to get OHS on the scoreboard. Cristano Nogureras kicked the first of six PATs to make it 14-7.

On the next series, after a holding penalty pushed the Hornets back to their 11, Kowboys linebacker CC Smithson, who scored twice for the Kowboys, jumped a crossing pattern, intercepting Mays’ pass. He returned the pick 15 yards for a TD that tied the score.

“I was looking inside,” he said. “We were in the 4-3.”

The suddenly reeling Hornets punted on their next possession, and the OHS offense capitalized. McCray broke four tackles up the middle and raced 62 yards for a touchdown with 1:29 to go in the half, making it 21-14.

The OHS defense kept making plays in the third quarter.

Linebacker Akim Francis blocked a punt and Smithson returned it 55 yards for the Kowboys’ fourth touchdown of the night, and just one minute later Francis intercepted May’s slant pass and returned it 35 yards, giving the Kowboys a 35-14 lead.

“I was just reading the quarterback,” Francis, who made 14 tackles, said about his interception return

The punt block, he said, was the same play the Kowboys ran one week earlier when Bailey blocked a punt against Ocoee that resulted in a safety.

“Just a bull rush,” he said.

Osceola defensive coordinator Scott Spencer said he didn’t make any adjustments to ignite his defense.

“No, the guys just started getting after it,” he said. “It wasn’t anything we did scheme-wise.”

Bishop Moore scored on its next possession to make it closer, 35-21, but  Osceola’s Dominque Davis deflected May’s next pass to teammate Markice Adams for an interception. That set up quarterback Kieron Williams’ (5-86, 1 TD) game-clinching 43-yard TD run with 7:43 to play.

Nichols knows what to expect from the Pirates: strength and speed.

“They’re like they always are over there, loaded with athletes,” Nichols said. “They’ll go from the shotgun and I, then they’ll switch to double tights. They’re pretty good.”

Defensive tackle Hosea Cobb and end Kevin Elkins, both seniors, anchor the Pirates’ five-man defensive front. Seniors Tyrone Dixon and Nuel Merriel double as threats from the offensive backfield and as defensive backs.