After Osceola turned the ball over seven times and lost their third winnable game of the season against Central Florida power Jones Monday night, you sensed the Kowboys would be looking to make a statement on Thursday against district foe Celebration.
Statement made.
Whether talking about offense, defense or special teams the Kowboys did no wrong in beating the Storm, 56-0.
The Kowboys scored on their first seven possessions – needing no more than six plays on any drive – to build a 49-0 lead. The seventh touchdown, which came on a Alijah Jenkins 11-yard run, came with 6:15 left in the second quarter and resulted in the coaches agreeing to go to a running clock for the rest of the game. That onslaught in the first half included a 72-yard touchdown run by Taevion Swint. The Osceola sophomore scored three touchdowns and gained 97 yards on just five carries.
Fellow running backs Akeem Knox (5 carries – 45 yards) scored two rushing touchdowns and while freshman Jeff Sinophant, who came up from the junior varsity, rushed four times for 61 yards and also scored.
Freshman Jakyri Watson played quarterback in the second half and rushed for 34 yards on five carries. Quarterback David Buggs completed 6-of-9 passes for 74 yards, including a 14-yard scoring pass to TJ Massey.
In all, the Kowboys gained 368 yards on just 38 plays. Osceola only faced third down twice. The only time the Kowboys failed to score was on their final possession when drive taking the ball 95 yards from their own three to the Celebration 2-yard-line before taking a knee on the final two plays of the game.
Defensively, Osceola was nearly impressive as Celebration managed just five first downs and 93 yards of total offense in the game – 63 of which came on the Storm’s final drive against Osceola’s reserves. Osceola forced three turnovers, blocked a punt and held on downs twice.
Special teams were also solid. Devin Calhoun hit all seven of his extra points and drove five kickoffs out of the back of the end zone.
The Kowboys went to 3-3 on the season and 1-0 in District 4S-10 play with the win; Celebration fell to 0-6 and 0-2 in district play.
“Celebration is having a tough year and the game was what it was,” Osceola coach Eric Pinellas said. “On the bright side, we were able to play a lot of young kids tonight and more importantly they responded and played well. Obviously they are our future and when you can get quality reps in with essentially junior varsity players, it is always a positive.”
The Kowboys move on to play St. Cloud on Monday night, another 4S-10 game, in the 99th edition of “The Game.” One of the oldest rivalries in both the state and the nation, the game is a Sept. 30 makeup of a game postponed by Hurricane Ian.
“We’ve gotten the best of the rivalry for a number of years, but I know our kids will still be excited to play on Monday,” Pinellas said. “Their fathers and grandfathers have played in this game, so it still has a lot of meaning.”
Osceola will then play their fourth game in 13 days when they host Daytona Beach Mainland Oct. 21 at Markus Paul Stadium.
