There will be no more Mondays.
Osceola mantra of winning a playoff game so they will have one more Monday of practices ends this week. The real question now becomes: can the Kowboys pull off a major upset and win the school’s second state football championship?
It’s a question to be answered Friday, when the gritty, tough, and resilient Osceola Kowboys (12-2) travel to Pitbull Stadium on the campus of Florida International University to take on the undefeated, top-ranked and high-flying West Boca Raton Bulls (14-0). Kickoff is 12:30 p.m.
“Not going to lie, the film on them was impressive,” Osceola Coach Eric Pinellas said. “Offensively, defensively, special teams, they are not only sound, but actually really good in all three aspects. We will definitely have our work cut out for us.”
West Boca has been ranked at the top of Class 6A and in the top five across all classifications in state rankings for most of the season. They come into the game averaging 33.5 points per game and allowing just 8.3. Realistically, the Bulls have only been tested three times all season, the last coming in last week’s 14-11 win over Miami Southridge.
The Bulls run a complicated and diverse offense, rotating quarterbacks Mason Mallory and Trey Moran. Mallory, the better runner, has rushed for 676 yards and 10 touchdowns; but has also completed 67.5% of his passes for 1,555 yards and 16 touchdowns. Moran is more a pure passer, completing 71.1% for 1,121 yards and 17 touchdowns. Combined they thrown for 33 touchdowns and just seven picks.
Both are excellent at spreading the ball around. Five different receivers have caught 20 or more passes and 10 different players have receiving touchdowns. Billy Clancy III (45 receptions, 512 yards, 7 TDs) leads a cast that includes Mark Haniford (38536-9), Zach Walls (24-379-4), Jaccorian McCray (29-355-2) and Kyle Andrews (24-3441). McCray is a double threat catching the ball and running sweeps. He has averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
The real X-factor will be running back Jayden Lockhart, a 5-10, 200-pound bruiser. While he did not play last week against Southridge, he could be back Friday. He is just short of a 1,000 rushing yards on the season and has averaged 7.7 yards per carry.
“They are tough to defend because they are so multidimensional. You have to account for all six players that can touch the ball on any play,” Osceola Defensive Coordinator Brad Lennox said. “They clearly have two No. 1 quarterbacks, both of which can throw and run. We going to have to play disciplined, assignment-based football and figure out a way to get some stops.”
Defensively, West Boca has piled up impressive numbers. Pinellas noted they are not particularly big up front but are extremely “athletic and play sound defense.” Defensive linemen Grant Edmond (48 tackles, 16 tackles-for-loss, 6 quarterback sacks) and Xavier Reid (90 Tackles, 31 TFL, and 7 sacks) anchor the defensive line; while Jamar Thompson (55 Tackles, 14 TFL) is also a force up front.
Linebacker Max Reid (100 tackles, 14 TFL) does a lot of clean-up work, while Delorean Hall (67 Tackles) is an outstanding strong safety, who provides outstanding runstop support. Damon Allen (4 interceptions,) can be a “ball hawk” at corner for the Bulls.
West Boca’s kicking game has been equally spectacular. Lucas Barker has put 35 of 47 kickoffs through the end zone, Trey Moran averages 42 yards per punt and John Fanfar is 49 of 51 on extra points. On special teams defense, they have seven blocked kicks.
“In preparation for most games, you look for an area or two of weakness that you can attack, we’re still looking for where we can do that,” Pinellas said. “We obviously need to do what we do best, run the football and play great defense.”
Fortunately, Osceola has done both this season. The Kowboys are averaging close to 300 yards rushing and 32.2 points per game; outscoring opponents by 17.9 points per game. Taevion Swint has rushed for 1,799 yards and 25 touchdowns and Jeff Sinophat (109-892-9 TD) is also closing in on a 1,000-yard season. Elijah Hickson (144-683--5 TD) has been steady pounding the ball up the middle.
On the defensive line, Osceola can rotate 9 or 10 players and keeping that group fresh will be vital against the potent West Boca offense. Lennox credited that depth to last week’s win.
“They dropped back to pass 50 times last week, if we only had four guys playing on the line, our tongues would have been dragging. Instead we were relatively fresh and made plays in the fourth quarter,” the veteran coach said.
Robert Lee and Elijah Melendez give Osceola a solid linebacker corps and its defensive backfield of Jakari Watson, Larenz Walker, Ja’Mario Bradford and Jeff Banks have been solid. Osceola got a huge lift from rover Nathaniel Barnett, who had an interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery last week that led to 10 points in Osceola’s 4135 upset of Buchholz.
Both teams have played tough schedules, combining to play 23 of their 28 games against playoff teams.
For Pinellas, the message to his team is clear – especially the seniors.
“Everyone talks about the 1998 team. These guys weren’t even born when Osceola won that last state championship. I will remind all week, they have a chance to do something really special. Win a state championship, and you will be remembered forever.”
