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A bevy of Osceola defenders brings down Edgewater running back CJ Baxter (No.4). The Eagles won the game on a last second fumble that was returned for a touchdown. (Photo courtesy Jana Stultz /Osceola High School)
In the end, it came down to one play.
Jeremiah Conley returned a fumble 59 yards for a touchdown with four seconds remaining to give Edgewater High School – the state’s fourth ranked team in all classifications – a 31-24 road win over the Osceola Kowboys.
It was an epic battle, as Edgewater (3-1) came in the as the second-ranked team in Class 7A; while the Kowboys (3-1) were ranked 4th in Class 8A.
The deciding play occurred with Osceola in possession and driving for the potential game-winning points. Quarterback Chad Mascoe was faced with a fourth and one with 18 seconds left on the Edgewater 41, when he rolled out to his left on a run-pass option. He was strip-sacked from behind, however, by linebacker Bryce Turner. Conley picked up the loose ball and raced untouched down the right sideline for the game-winning score.
“Perhaps not the smartest play trying to pass on fourth down,” Osceola Head Coach Doug Nichols said. “But we were trying to win a game against one of the best teams in the state. Sometimes those plays work in your favor and sometimes they go against you.”
Take away the game’s last play and the Kowboys have every reason to believe they belong in the same category as Edgewater. The only difference between the two teams came down to the fact that the Kowboys were dealing with poor field position all night, gave up a few too many big plays and had a few drives stall with penalties.
“They did a pretty good job of flipping the field on us,” Nichols said. “There kicker put all his kickoffs out of the end zone for touchbacks and their punter kept us hemmed in most of the game.” On the night, Osceola had an average starting position of their own 19; while Edgewater had an average starting position of its own 35.
In the end, the big plays were the real killers for Osceola. In addition to the fumble return for a touchdown, the Eagles got a 35-yard punt return for a score from Christian Leary, a 45-yard touchdown run from Kahlil Washington and a 36-yard touchdown reception from Tommi Hill.
But if you take away the special teams and defensive touchdown and other three long scoring plays; Osceola’s defense held Edgewater to just 218 yards on 45 plays. The Kowboy defense also had an interception and a key stop on downs.
“I thought we played a pretty good game on both offense and defense. They have quite a few Division-1 type athletes on both sides of the ball and a lot of size and speed and I thought we did a good job of hanging with them and we may have even been a little more physical than they were,” Nichols added.
Osceola had scoring drives of 80, 75, 71, and 80 yards but accomplished them in a very un-Kowboy way. Long known as a power running team, Osceola got 330 passing yards from Mascoe and gained only 69 yards on the ground.
Starting running back Ja’Randy Swint, who injured a hip in the game, managed only 34 yards on 13 carries and Malachi Reenie had 33 yards on eight totes.
“We obviously want to run the ball,” Nichols said. “But between Ja’Randy being nicked up and facing a really good front eight, it was tough going tonight.”
What Osceola did well was move the ball through the air. Mascoe, a junior, was 23 of 31 passing. Sophomore Ja’Keem Jackson had a huge first half, catching four passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Massimo Rivera had seven catches for 89 yards and John Wolf added a 4-yard touchdown reception.
About the only down side on offense was five false start and two holding penalties which help stall out several Osceola drives.
“We’re playing a lot of young players on offense and some of those mistakes are certainly correctable,” Nichols added. “You’re never happy with a loss, but I am more than pleased with the effort our kids gave tonight.”
Osceola remains at home next week and will take on upstart Tohopekaliga (2-2), a 32-22 winner of Orlando Christian Prep (5-1) last weekend.
