For the first time in a decade, Osceola High will not be adding a district championship to their resume.
West Orange (8-1, 4-0) used big play after big play to defeat Osceola (6-2, 3-1), 35-21, and clinch the Class 8A, District 9 title.
Despite losing a district game for the first time since 2010, Osceola still remains in comfortable position to secure an at-large post-season bid.
“Not a lot to say about this one. We got out of position on defense a few times, we did not properly tackle a few times, we dropped some passes and just made too many mistakes to win a game like this,” Osceola Coach Eric Pinellas said. “I told our guys after the game that you can learn a lot more from a loss than a win. We have to put this one behind us, correct our mistakes and hopefully get ready and make a run into the post-season. Last year, we lost badly in Week 8 to Vero and then turned it on and made a great playoff run. There’s no reason why we can’t do the same thing this year.”
Osceola stumbled out of the blocks from the beginning, turning the ball over on a fumble and later on downs and getting into a 7-0 hole when Warriors quarterback Tyler Huff hit Florida Gators commit Jayden Gibson on a quick slant that turned into a 41-yard touchdown pass.
Osceola tied the score when quarterback Chad Mascoe hit Taevion Swint on a diving 12-yard scoring strike on 4th-and-7. A quick stop by the Osceola defense led to a short touchdown run by Ja’Randy Swint and the Kowboys grabbed a 14-7 lead with just 2:40 seconds left in the half.
But the big play would again hurt Osceola on the ensuing kickoff. Matt McDoom took the kickoff at the 10, broke two tackles and raced 90-yards for a touchdown. Only a missed PAT kept OHS in the lead, 14-13, at the half.
The first two series of the third quarter most likely cost Osceola the game. Huff opened the third quarter with a big 25-yard completion to Gibson and then Rocky Ruldolf out-jumped a Kowboy defender on a 50-50 ball, broke a tackle and raced 41 yards for a go-ahead score. Mascoe responded by leading a drive, but a potential game-tying touchdown pass was dropped in the end zone. Two plays later, Huff dumped a short screen pass to tight end Eddie Kelly, who broke two tackles and raced 93 yards for a touchdown as West Orange grabbed a 28-14 lead.
Osceola closed back to 28-21 midway through the fourth quarter as Mascoe overcame a 2nd-and-28 with a 44-yard pass to Perry Garrett and then fired a 30-yard touchdown pass to Chris Combs on a 4th-and-19 to cut the gap to 28-21.
Osceola got the ball with a chance to tie, but Gibson's 30-yard interception return gave the Warriors a 35-21 lead it'd keep for good.
“Both teams have some great defensive players, but we knew this was not going to be a 7-6 game,” West Orange Head Coach Mike Granato said. “We felt we had to execute in our passing game and win the kicking game and I think we did that. Osceola has a great team and there’s no question in my mind we might see them again in the post-season.”
Osceola returns to action on Friday night with a district game against Celebration (5-3), a 49-7 winner over Windermere Thursday, before concluding its regular season at home against Orange City University (6-1) on Nov. 5.
