St. Cloud’s defense had no answer for the Kowboys’ rushing attack, as Osceola scored three quick touchdowns and proceeded to dominate the 101st playing of “The Game” -- recording a 56-6 win on Friday night.
Osceola extended their on-field winning streak to 14 in the series (St. Cloud’s 41-35 in 2010 was later forfeited). The average margin of victory in the 14 wins has been 33.6 points and Osceola now leads Florida’s fifth-oldest rivalry 70-27-4.The game quickly got out of hand.
On the game’s second play, Taevion Swint took a handoff on a counter play and raced 85 yards for a touchdown. He later scored on a 49-yard run on his only other carry. His two scores were sandwiched around a 14-yard Elijah Hixson scoring run. The Kowboys compiled 200 rushing yards on just six first-quarter carries to take a 21-0 lead.
St. Cloud countered with their lone score at the start of the second quarter, as Logan King directed a 6-play, 94-yard drive to cut the deficit to 21-6. Santiago Ochoa covered the last 34-yards on a catch-and-run from King.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Jakari Watson erased any thoughts of a St. Cloud comeback with a 99-yard touchdown return. Watson went to the end zone the next time he touched the ball on a 65-yard punt return, but it was erased by a holding penalty. Osceola added to its lead three plays later on a 39-yard scoring pass from Camren West to Alijah Jenkins.
Osceola’s reserves tacked on two more touchdowns that led to a running clock. The Kowboys
tallied 12 plays of 15 or more yards. Swint finished with two carries for 134 yards (2 TDs), Jeff Sinophat had 6 for 55 yards (1 TD) and young sophomore Javontay Barnett rushed 13 times for 68 yards and a score.
“It pretty much went the way we expected,” Osceola coach Eric Pinellas said. “We were happy to come out of the game healthy and with a win. Our offensive line played really well and we got our running game going early. Obviously I was not pleased with the number of penalties (14 for 140 yards).”
For St. Cloud (2-2), King was 13-for-28 passing for 213 yards, the touchdown and one interception. Alex Springs (5-95) and TJ Griffin (3-45) were the leading receivers.
“We didn’t have a lot of positives tonight, but we did play extremely hard. That’s one thing I love about this group, they play really hard and never give up. We’ll regroup and get ready for a really good Merritt Island team next week,” St. Cloud coach Mike Short said.
