Heading into Friday’s home opener against Treasure Coast, Osceola coach Eric Pinellas wanted to see his team control possession by running the ball on offense and dominate on defense. After a two hour and 30 minute lightning delay, Pinellas saw his Kowboys check both boxes with a convincing 21-7 win over Treasure Coast – a team that beat Osceola twice last season.
“At the end of the long day, it was a quality win against a quality opponent,” Pinellas said. “I would grade it a solid B or B+ effort. It was tough sitting around during the lightning delay but I was really proud of the way our defense came out and set the tone for the entire night.”
We will get to the running game in a moment, but it was the defense that stood out. Defensive coordinaor Brad Lennox’s defense limited Treasure Coast to just 31 total yards and one first down on five total possessions. They forced one turnover (a Jakari Watson interception) and recorded three tackles-for-loss and three quarterback sacks.
Treasure Coast saw Osceola’s side of the field just once on offense, in the second quarter when an errant snap flew over the head of the Kowboys’ punter—resulting in a 30-yard loss and setting the titans up on the Osceola 35. The Kowboys defense recorded a sack and a tackle-for-loss for quickly force a three-and-out on that series.
Meanwhile, Osceola was dominating early with its ground game. Starting at its own 20 after the opening kickoff, Osceola drove the 80 yards on just six plays, taking a 6-0 lead on Jeff Sinophant’s 48-yard run. A shanked punt set the Kowboys up on a short field on its next possession – this time Taevion Swint did the honors on a 36-yard TD run. A Swint running conversion made it 14-0 at the 3:21 mark of the first.
Several penalties thwarted two more Osceola drives – including a holding penalty that nullified a second Swint touchdown – as Osceola had to settle for a 14-0 lead at intermission.
After a quick Osceola defensive stop to open the third quarter, the Kowboys appeared headed for a three-score lead but Swint was hit hard inside the 10-yard line, fumbled and Dazerick White picked up the loose ball and ran 93 yards for a score to cut the Osceola lead to 14-7.
But with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter, Osceola put the game away with a 19-play, 80-yard drive that Swint capped with a 2-yard scoring play on fourth down. The Kowboys were able to run more 12 minutes off the clock – converting three third downs and two fourth downs on the drive. Osceola, led by Sinophant (11-111) and Swint (14-89) tallied almost 300 yards rushing in the game.
Treasure Coast got the ball back with just over two minutes to go and Osceola put a stamp on its defensive effort with two more quarterback sacks.
Osceola next moves on to face Lake Mary, currently ranked 18th in the state across all classifications. The Rams got off to a 1-0 start with a dominating 49-20 win over Cardinal Gibbons and will present another stiff challenge to the Kowboys.
“They got a Division-I quarterback, and they are an outstanding offensive team,” Pinellas said. “We are going to need to control the clock with our running game and limit their possessions. It will be a great test for our guys.”
Lake Mary junior quarterback Noah Grubbs, who verbally committed to Notre Dame, threw for 49 touchdowns last year in leading the Rams to a 10-2 record. It will be the second of eight 2023 FHSAA Playoff teams Osceola is scheduled to face in 2024.
