The Osceola Kowboys defeated the Rockledge Raiders 30-7 on Friday night in a match-up where both teams relied heavily on their run game.
The two teams played in front of a packed McLarty Stadium, several miles away from the Rockledge High campus, with both Kowboys and Raiders fans crowding the home bleachers due to renovations happening on the away side. The crowds thinned during the third quarter when the rain, which had been threatening to come down all evening, finally started, sending most of those in attendance running to the parking lot.
The Kowboys opened the game playing aggressively, shutting down the Raiders’ first drive on a crucial 4th-and-4 play. After an explosive 23-yard run by sophomore Taevion Swint, Osceola took an early 7-0 lead on a 33-yard touchdown pass from senior David Buggs to senior Bo Mascoe.
The Kowboys really made a statement in the second quarter with a pair of huge touchdown passes from Buggs – a 78-yard pass to senior TJ Massey with 6 minutes left in the half and a 70-yard pass to senior Ja’keem Jackson with just a minute remaining. In a run-focused game, Buggs made the most of these few passing plays, giving his team a sizable 21-0 lead at the half.
Rockledge attempted to rally after halftime with an interception by junior DJ Mccormick in Osceola’s opening drive but weren’t able to capitalize and turned the ball over just a few plays later with a fumble. The series of turnovers continued when Rockledge junior D’mari Jenkins grabbed a tipped ball deep in Osceola territory and returned it for a touchdown, finally allowing the Raiders to get on the board.
Swint brought another monster run to the table on the next drive, moving the ball 64 yards, leading to a field goal and a 24-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Swint put the finishing touches on the win with a 19-yard rushing touchdown with about 2 minutes remaining.
Osceola coach Eric Pinellas didn’t seem surprised by his team’s win over the previously undefeated Raiders.
“After watching film, we felt real comfortable coming into the game,” he said. “We felt like the key to it for us was just being as physical as possible, trying to be physical on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. We executed a great game plan for four quarters and got a win.”
The team will play next Friday’s game against district rivals St. Cloud, but Pinellas said they are focused on the big picture goal of becoming state champions.
“Next week is St. Cloud, first district game, rivalry, all of those things, but that’s just the next step on the totem pole, trying to get where we want to go,” he said.
