Class 6A state championship game — Kissimmee Osceola vs. West Boca Raton
See more on Osceola High’s drive for its second state championship in Sports on Thursday.
Perhaps it’s only fitting that Osceola High will be playing for the state championship this week at Pitbull Stadium. After all, there is a lot of dog in the Kowboys defense that has propelled the team to the FHSAA Class 6A state championship game at Florida International University in Miami on Friday afternoon.
A win would put this team next to the 1998 Class 5A state champions in the pantheon of a long history of Kowboy football. Names like Bobby Sippio, Chad Mascoe Sr., Larry Anderson, Ernest Varnado and Anthony Jones helped Osceola’s defense score a 28-14 win over Estero more than a generation ago.
Teams in 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2020 have reached the title game but came away with silver medals. After Friday, a new set of defensive stars may carve their names into the school’s records.
“No question, all those guys got some dog in them. A lot of people thought Armwood was going to roll us, but I knew they had not played a defense as physical and aggressive as ours,” OHS Coach Eric Pinellas said. “Buchholz was a different game, they had a great quarterback and outstanding receivers and it is hard to apply consistent pressure when a kid is dropping back 50 times in one game. But hats off to our defense and defensive coaching staff, they were ready to play. Our ultimate goal was to get to Miami and play for a championship and our defense has played such a huge role in making that happen.”
Despite playing great teams during the year (eight of 10 regular-season opponents made the playoffs), the Kowboys defense has been more than up to the task, holding those opponents to 13.9 points per game. Only two teams scored 20 points on Osceola this year in the regular season: Lake Mary in a 24-7 win in in Week 2 and Jones, who scored 34 in an overtime win in Week 5.
Across all classifications, both those teams are ranked in top 10 and both will be joining Osceola in Miami. Lake Mary (12-2) is playing for the 7A crown and undefeated Jones (14-0) going for the 4A title. After an outstanding regular season, Osceola ramped up its defensive efforts in the postseason. After smashing Viera and Durant in the first two rounds, the Kowboys defense limited then-undefeated Armwood to just seven points in a 17-7 win—holding the Hawks to 30 point s below their regular scoring average.
Even in last Friday’s 41-35 semifinal win over Buchholz— where the defense gave up 400 passing yards and five touchdowns to Division I quarterback prospect Trace Johnson, it could be argued that the defense—not the offense— was equally or more responsible for the win.
In that game, Osceola intercepted Johnson three times, forced a fumble and recorded five sacks—all key plays that either led to Osceola points or thwarted Bobcat drives.
Senior linebacker Elijah Melendez has been the leader of the defense. His 95-yard pick-six return played a huge role in Osceola’s win over Buchholz and he has been among the team leaders in tackles (76), interceptions (4) and tackles-for-loss (10).
Melendez said the key to this season comes down to attitude.
“Everything we do on defense revolves around energy. We don’t have a bunch of stars and prima donnas on our defense and the logos and names on the other side of the field mean nothing to us,” he said. “Bottom line, we play well because we are well-coached, we are physical and we come to work every day—whether it’s one the practice field or offseason weight room work.”
Melendez credited defensive coordinator Brad Lennox for the three interceptions against Buchholz.
“That’s where the coaching and preparation comes in. We made those plays because Coach Lennox put us in position to make those plays,” he said. “If we prepare the same way this week, play assignment football and play with the same energy, intensity, and physicality that we have been, we can be successful.”
Lennox says everything this year starts up front with a defensive line led by coach Rob Vansickle.
“He came up to me at the start of the season and said, ‘I think we have enough talent to play two lines.’ We have nine or 10 that can play,” Lennox said. “He has done such a great job developing that line and it really paid off against Buchholz. When a team is passing 50 times a game, your D-line is going to wear out. We were able to substitute fresh bodies all night and that made the difference.”
Lennox went on to agree this group of Kowboys defenders is something special.
“Great defensive players and great defenses at Osceola is nothing new, it’s been that way since I’ve been here. But this group is really different,” he said. “We work them so hard every day at practice and they never complain, they just respond. We have dressed 22 guys on that side of the ball and one is treated no different than 22, they are all important to what we are trying to accomplish.”
That accomplishment is simple and difficult—earning this Kowboys generation its state championship.
