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Osceola’s Tavion Swint racked up 1,666 rushing yards in 2022 en route to the News-Gazette’s Offensive Player of the Year honors. PHOTO/REINHOLD MATAY
Two Osceola Kowboys, whose team came within a few plays of competing for a state championship, earned the Osceola News-Gazette’s Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards for the 2022 season.
On offense, sophomore running back Taevion Swint is the Offensive Player of the Year. In 14 games, the running back, already sought after by college programs, rushed for 1,666 yards and 20 touchdowns, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. His consistency was most impressive, as he ran for more than 100 yards eight times and averaged more than seven yards a carry in nine games.
What made Swint’s efforts more impressive is he accomplished this against some of the best defensive teams in the state – including games against Treasure Coast (2), Lakeland (2), West Orange, Seminole, Jones, Vero Beach, Mainland and Rockledge. They all made deep playoff runs.
He averaged 126 yards rushing in four playoff games. His top regular season games included 165 yards against Seminole and 167 against Rockledge. Swint now has 2,278 career rushing yards and 32 rushing touchdowns in a two-year career. When passing, receiving and return yards are factored, Swint has accounted for 3,236 all-purpose yards and has scored 40 touchdowns.
A three-year starter, Osceola’s John Walker -- a four-star recruit who signed with UCF -- is the Defensive Player of the Year for a second consecutive year. Walker, along with Derrick Leblanc and Elijah Palmero, anchored a defensive line, one of the best in the state that played a major role in getting the Kowboys to the Class 4S semifinals.
Walker finishes the season second on the team with 78 total tackles with nine sacks and 16 additional tackles-for-loss. In his illustrious career, he finishes with 254 total tackles, 57 tackles-for-loss, and 40 sacks. Walker edges out Leblanc (11 sacks), who was selected the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year.
Tohopekaliga record-setting quarterback Sabby Meassick is the Osceola News Gazette’s Freshman of the Year. He established new county records for passing yards (3,044) and passing touchdowns (38). With the first-year quarterback at the helm, Tohopekaliga posted a 6-4 record – a four-game improvement from the previous season.
Meassick started off his Toho career red-hot – throwing 31 touchdowns and one interception in his first five games.
Tohopekaliga’s Nick Rawls Jr. and Poinciana’s Perry Garrett share the “Ironman of the Year” award. Both players excelled on both offense and defense, with Garrett also excelling on special teams. Osceola’s Ja’Keem Jackson, a Florida signee at cornerback and an top receiving target this year, received heavy consideration.
Rawls led Toho with 67 receptions for 853 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was also a starting corner and led the team in interceptions (5) and passed defended (6); while making 29 total tackles.
Garrett rarely left the field for the Eagles. He caught 48 passes for 708 yards and six touchdowns, and added 47 yards rushing and one score on offense. As a starting defensive back, he had 46 tackles and two interceptions. He filled in as a kicker for a couple of games, hitting five extra points and had a team-leading 464 return yards.
Osceola coach Eric Pinellas, the 2022 Orange Belt Conference Coach of the Year, is also our selection for “Coach of the Year.” Facing a tough 14-game slate that included 11 games against playoff teams, Pinellas led Osceola to 10 wins and a regional championship. The Kowboys fell just short of a state title game with a 14-7 road loss to top-ranked Lakeland in the semifinals. In two seasons at Osceola’s coach, Pinellas is 19-7, including four playoff wins.
Others were also in the running and received serious consideration for the nod. Tohopekaliga’s Anthony Paradiso took a 2-8 squad in disarray and turned them into a winning 6-4 team in one season. Under Randy Beeken, Poinciana won a record eight games and posted just the second winning season in the school’s 31-year history. Despite playing a difficult schedule, Harmony posted a winning record and earned a Class 4S at-large playoff spot under coach Don Simon. Taking over a team that won just three games this season, Mike Short also won six games with St. Cloud.
