Eagles get late touchdown to seal 19-13 victory, end football season in Osceola County
Osceola Coach Eric "EP" Pinellas talks to his team following the playoff game, a 19-13 loss to South Lake. (Photo/J. Daniel Pearson)
GROVELAND — Tre Kelly fired a 14-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Pina with 4:26 remaining and his defense made it hold up, as South Lake defeated Osceola, 19-13, in a Region 6A-2 semifinal Friday.
While South Lake (11-1) moves into its first regional final in school history Friday at undefeated Armwood (12-0), Osceola saw its season finish at 7-5, ending the 2025 football season in Osceola County.
It was a contest between two-evenly matched teams that basically was decided by two fourth quarter plays. The first one was Kelly’s game-winning touchdown pass to Pina, a high-arcing ball to the left corner of the endzone where the 6’6” Pina outjumped a defender in essentially a basketball play to make the catch.
Osceola battled back to try some late-game heroics, meticulously moving the ball down field and picking up big first down runs by Alijah Jenkins and Jeff Sinophat, But on fourth-and-4 from the South Lake 25, Sinophat was stood up one yard short of a first down and the Kowboys turned the ball over on downs.
“One play does not win or lose a game, but that one hurt,” Coach Eric Pinellas said. “We had the right call on and we simply missed one block. If we make it, we absolutely get a first down in the red zone with plenty of time to score.”
After battling to a 13-13 deadlock at halftime, Osceola had several opportunities to take the lead and control of the game. On its first possession of the third, a promising drive ended when Amaree Rutland was intercepted in the South Lake end zone. A second drive ended on the South Lake 4, when a fourth-down Rutland scramble came up one yard short of a first down. Osceola’s next possession went deep in Eagles territory, only to see a 34-yard Jenkins’ touchdown run nullified by a holding penalty. Osceola punted one play later.
Counting the final possession, Osceola drove the ball into scoring position all four times it had the ball, only to come up empty each time.
The teams traded first-half touchdowns and each missed an extra point. The Eagles drew first blood: Kelly directed a seven-play, 54-yard drive, keyed by a13-yard completion from Kelly to Pina down to the goal line on a ball that was deflected off an Osceola defensive back. Kelly carried it in on the next play for a 7-0 lead.
The Kowboys answered immediately with Sinophat capping an 80-yard drive with a four-yard run. A 28-yard pass from Rutland to Ja'mario Bradford was the highlight. After an Eagles’ turnover, Hardnett scored from 11 yards out; but a 30-yard pass from Kelly to Pina tied it with 1:54 left in the half.
Twice on fourth down, a low snap from center resulted in South Lake punter Chris McKenna being sacked deep in his own territory. McKenna also had two extra points blocked.
Still, Osceola only managed to score six points off the four South Lake miscues.
Osceola played the game without several starters and key contributors – including running back Javontay Barnett and center Jaeden Bellamy, who were both injured in the Durant playoff game.
“Because we were so banged up heading into this game, my only real goal was to have these kids play their hearts out and leave everything on the field,” Pinellas said. “We definitely got that effort tonight. This group of seniors are very special to me. Jakyri (Watson), Alijah (Jenkins), Jeffrey (Sinophat), Marcus (Ferrer) and the rest of them. They have been around our program since they were little kids and they have meant so much to our program.”
The group of 20 seniors , who year-in and year-out faced one of the toughest schedules in the state, finished with a 33-19 record, four district championships, an Elite 8 appearance, a regional title and a state runner-up finish.
