Friday night's Osceola Kowboys football game was one of those, “Cancel all plans nights” involving a game that was the center of the universe for about two hours.
Osceola was involved in one of those two years ago, an epic 14-7 loss at Lakeland, which went on to win the Class 7A state championship, something it's done a few times. Friday, that game happened a little farther down I-4, at Armwood High School.
If you’ve driven I-4 to or from Tampa, you know Armwood. Lyle Flagg Field butts right up to the highway, and a sign declaring the Hawks’ history of success is visible for tens of thousands of drivers to see. Three state championships (one that was stripped for using ineligible players). Seven runner-up finishes. The marquee program of a Hillsborough County that includes Tampa.
“State Football Champions” the sign says. It’s a nice lookin’ sign.
Osceola High doesn't have a sign on Thacker Avenue, but if it did, it would read something like, "1998 state champs and five-time state runners-up."
In Friday's epic matchup ... let's just say Armwood's players, coaches and fans saw the sign.
It said: Osceola 17, Armwood 7 -- Kowboys are Region 2 champions.
It pointed the way to the locker room, which the previously-undefeated Hawks will clear out this weekend.
If the game was a boxing match, it would have been billed as two pound-for-pound titans facing off, jabbing at each other early on. At halftime, when the football score was knotted at nothing, Armwood would have been winning the fight on the judges’ cards. While the Kowboys had trouble getting its power running game on track, the Hawks moved the ball, but two huge fourth-down stops by the OHS defense made it not matter.
It just set the stage for the second half; the metaphorical punches flew, one after another.
Punch: The Osceola cavalry finally arrives, and Taevion Swint breaks free on a 67-yard touchdown gallup to get the Kowboys on the board.
Counterpunch: Armwood quarterback Ryhs Brush hits Tyler Williams down the middle for a 60-yard pass.
The comeback: Robert Lee strips Williams on his next catch, and Randy Charles recovers.
The body blows: Osceola's run game allows quarterback Camren West to fake a handoff and hit Alijah Jenkins for 34 yards. Swint then runs for 15 to set up Adrian Gonzalez's 34-yard field goal. OHS lead by two scores with 16 minutes left in the game.
Armwood, who won last week against Tampa Plant despite having its back to the wall, mounted a touchdown drive to pull to 10-7, and forced Osceola to punt on its next drive. The Kowboys shook off those punches, and then put the thing away.
Henry Wolff hit that punt to the Armwood 6. Then the Hawks had to punt, and Swint went back to the body, picking up three first downs and another touchdown run with 3:43 left in the game. Elijah Melendez, then made an open-field tackle on the ensuing kickoff. Two minutes later, Osceola earned the knockout when Nathan Barnett recovered a fumble.
The only thing separating Friday's game from a heavyweight fight is that boxing doesn't end with taking a knee, which Osceola did to lead to the final bell, er, whistle.
Credit goes to a number of heavyweight Kowboys heroes Friday, most on the defense: those already named, along with Colton Carter. Oneil Morel. Elijah Vansickle. Joshua Alamo. Jaquille Knox. Jakyri Watson. Jasier Thomas. Jeff Banks.
Melendez, who will be playing on Saturdays next fall, gets to be a part of this defensive hit squad after losing most of his junior year to an injury. After Friday's game he sounded just as hyped about the plays his teammates made as the ones he made.
"It didn't take much to keep the team energized to keep making plays against these guys," he said. "At halftime, we came out screaming; they just walked out. They knew they hadn't played a team as physical as us."
Physical? Melendez said it after the game; OHS Coach Eric Pinellas, screamed it with his team.
“Armwood will forever remember the night Osceola came in to their house and kicked … their … (behind)!”
Later the coach, a former Kowboys running back, was more eloquent.
"Nobody outside of us believed we could do this. We heard it from everywhere, on social media, how we couldn't beat this team, and we took it personal. We got to the second half with a chance, then we we just kept doing the things that got us here."
“I’m not going to sleep tonight. At 2 a.m. I’m going to start getting ready for the state semifinals.”
And, on to the next fight. With or without a sign.
