Sophomore running back Taevion Swint ran for three touchdowns, and quarterback David Buggs threw for three more as Osceola routed St. Cloud, 42-3, in the 99th edition of “The Game” – the fifth-longest rivalry among Florida high schools.
It was also a District 4S-10 win for the Kowboys (4-3, 2-0) and sets up an Oct. 28 game with upstart Tohopekaliga (5-1, 1-0), which most likely be for the district championship and an automatic FHSAA playoff berth.
Monday’s game, a make-up of a Sept. 30 game postponed by Hurricane Ian, extended the Kowboys all-time advantage in the series to 68-27-4. It was Osceola’s 12th straight win on the field, dating back to 2010, a win that was eventually forfeited by a player eligibility issue, so Osceola’s official win streak in the rivalry now stands at 17, going back to St. Cloud’s 2005 win.
The win was also Osceola’s second in three days after last Friday’s 56-0 win over Celebration. The Kowboys will play a third game in eight days when they host Daytona Beach-Mainland (5-1) on Friday.
“Overall, I was pleased with how we came out tonight and took care of business,” said Osceola Coach Eric Pinellas, who played in this rivalry back in the 1980s as a Kowboys running back. “We now have to get ready for a talented Mainland team on Friday.
Osceola jumped on top early Monday when it forced St. Cloud to punt and Swint returned it 60 yards to the St. Cloud 20. Osceola needed just five plays to score, with Swint carrying it over from the 2-yard line for a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing possession, OHS defensive lineman John Walker tipped a Logan King pass that Elijah Palermo hauled in for his second interception of the year, and returned to the St. Cloud 19. Buggs hit Alijah Jenkins on a slant on the next play for a touchdown and a 14-0 advantage.
Jalen Bell would then block a punt to set Osceola up again inside the 30-yard line. This time, Buggs hit T.J. Massey from 27 yards out to up the lead to 21-0. A Bell interception on the next series gave Osceola a short field again, and this time Buggs hit Terry Cruz from 25-yard out to up the lead to 28-0.
Osceola’s next three possessions ended with an interception and two fumbles, but Osceola added a fifth touchdown late in the second quarter on a Swint one-yard run. Buggs set up the score by completing a 33-yard pass to Cruz for a 35-0 halftime lead.
St. Cloud did show some spark on their first two possessions, picking up 45 yards of total offense and gaining four first downs before the turnovers began to mount.
“We knew it would be next to impossible to run on them, so our goal was to try to buy some time and go vertical on them with our passing game,” St. Cloud coach Mike Short said. “It worked pretty well on our first couple of possessions, but then we had some drops and turnovers where we started giving them a short field.”
Osceola’s average starting position in the first half on seven possessions was the St. Cloud 30-yard line.
With the game going to a running clock at halftime, Swint opened the third quarter with a 63-yard touchdown run to make it a 42-0 game. Swint finished the game with more than 200 all-purpose yards, including 129 yards on just 12 carries.
“That kid is something else,” Short said about Osceola’s sophomore back. “You simply cannot give him a crease because once he gets in the open field it becomes a huge problem.”
St. Cloud’s points came on their final drive as King completed a 50-yard pass to Vadeil Rivera and Adrian Gonzalez-Lopez booted a 40-yard field goal. King completed 10-of-25 passes for 157 yards but he was intercepted twice and was sacked five times. Buggs was 6-of-10 for 131 yards and the three scores. Overall, Osceola gained 259 yards of total offense on just 32 plays.
St. Cloud drops to 5-3 overall and 0-2 in the district with the loss and will have their bye week on Friday. The Bulldogs conclude the season with a home game against Celebration on Oct. 28, then travel to Harmony on Nov. 4.
“We have some great senior leadership but we are playing with a ton of sophomores and some freshman starters,” Short added. “This team still has a chance to win seven games and that would be a great accomplishment for a young team.”
As for Osceola’s Friday matchup, Mainland quarterback Demarcus Creecy has completed 74% of his passes this year. His main targets include Ajai Harrell (34 receptions, 594 yards, nine touchdowns) and James Randle (19-374-4).
“They have a big quarterback who is pretty good at scrambling around and buying time and they have two really talented receivers.” Pinellas said. “It should be a good challenge for us.”
As for Friday night’s other matchups, as the county gets “back to normal” following Hurricane Ian:
Harmony (4-2) at Tohopekaliga (5-1): A contrast of the “ground and pound” Longhorns style of bruising running backs Tyler Emans and Cooper Richards, and the aerial attack with Tigers’ freshman QB Sabby Meassick, who already has Osceola County’s first 3,000-yard passing season and the single-season TD pass record (31).
Note: Harmony played Melbourne Tuesday in a key District 4S-11 game. Go to www.AroundOsceola.com for the details. Tohopekaliga will play at Celebration on Monday in a District 4S-10 makeup game.
Poinciana (4-2) at Lake Buena Vista (0-7): The Eagles can rack up just its third five-win season in school history, going back to 1995, with a victory Friday against the winless second-year Vipers. PHS is also scheduled to play at North Port on Monday in a make-up game scheduled Oct. 14.
Gateway (2-5) at Lake Region (2-4) — Panthers travel to Polk County for a District 3S-8 game they can win, after the momentum from last Monday’s win over Liberty.
Flagler Palm Coast (5-3) at Celebration (0-6) — the Storm gets two chances for its first win, against the Bulldogs Friday and the Toho Tigers Monday.
Lake Wales (7-0) at Liberty (0-7) — Chargers’ challenge to get their first win is daunting against the Highlanders, ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 3S according to MaxPreps.
