Gateway and Osceola to play in OHS jamboree to wrap up the spring — and the 2025-26 season
The spring football period— and the 2025-26 athletic season—will wrap up Friday when Osceola welcomes Gateway and Windermere for a spring jamboree at 6 p.m. Gateway will take on Windermere in the first half, and Osceola will play the visitors in halves to follow.
The rest of the county squads who played spring games got them in last week, with various agendas and expectations to get out of finally lining up against someone wearing a different color after two weeks of spring work.
St. Cloud saw the most scoreboard success, tying a physical South Lake team, 1414, in a half before rallying to beat Viera, 21-17.
Harmony, under “new-old” coach Tyler Anderson, beat Cypress Creek 20-0 but fell to Colonial, 12-0.
Poinciana, trying hard to win a spring game and defeat Timber Creek—both for the first time in Coach Tarron Mallard’s three-year PHS tenue—came up short, falling 14-0.
Mallard said the defense played well despite giving up the two scores, but with the Wolves holding the ball for stretches at a time thanks to their run game, he didn’t get to look at an offense replacing some parts.
“It gave us a sense of where we are,” Mallard said.
“Defensively we played well, we kept it at 7-0 into the hall with a goal line stand. Offensively we didn’t get a lot of opportunities to see how these kids can put together drives, but we’ll put in a lot of work over the summer.
“These kids know nobody’s coming to save us once we get into the fall, but I know we’re going to be in it together. We went to see Davenport (Friday), and I looked up and our whole team was there, sitting together and talking about being better.”
Despite losing a few playmakers to graduation, St. Cloud showed those still here can light up the scoreboard. Rising junior quarterback Jeremiah Lattier completed 23of-33 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns. A big chunk of that went to Owen Sullivan, a tight end thus far in his career who showed versatility Wednesday in lining up in the slot and even split out wide. He caught eight passes on nine targets for 176 yards.
Coach Mike Short said seeing a new offensive line work was a big priority of the spring game, and he said they performed “fantastic”, with Lattier seeing little pressure. And he lauded the work of a linebacker unit of J.T. Wrona, Colton Sklarek, Chase Gilbert and converted end Khalil Davis that put the defense, “Ahead of where we were last year.”
“You can never be satisfied, but I’m a level of comfortable going into the summer,” Short said.
It’s highly doubtful that any local coaches will be mailing out sympathy cards to Eric Pinellas after Osceola graduated 83% of its rushing offense, all of its passing game, the majority of its offensive line, its two top defensive linemen, key linebackers and most of its starting defensive backfield.
One would be hard-pressed to remember the last time Osceola had so few starters returning. Still, Pinellas called this spring “better than expected” as the Kowboys retool on both sides of the ball.
At quarterback, Jabari Combs has transferred in from Timber Creek and Pinellas said the rising junior has done an outstanding job of picking up the Kowboys offense. Javonty Barnett (668 yards total offense) returns at running back and should take over the feature role; while Jamarie Williams will take over the slot position.
Defensively, look for junior Jordan McCrimon to become the next star on the defensive line. Seldom used as sophomore as he played behind some outstanding seniors, McCrimon has matured into a 6-3, 245-pound end who has already garnered attention from Division I schools like Florida State. Dominique Redding is posed for a big season while several talented defensive backs like Amier Davis and Josue Rivera have waited their turn. Rising senior Alvarez Toussaint is a speedy and talented athlete who transferred from Liberty prior to the 2025 season and has looked extremely impressive this spring.
“Alvarez always had the talent but he came from a program where I don’t believe he was pushed and he was always going to start because he was the most talented athlete on the team. That wasn’t the case last year when he arrived,” Pinellas said. “But I think the light went on for him last year. He put on some weight, worked hard on his position and I think he’s ready to pop for us this year.”
On the offensive line, former center Jayden Bellamy is healed from last year’s injury that kept him out of the playoffs. He will switch to left tackle and will be the anchor of the offensive line.
In 2025, Gateway had its best season in a number of years, qualifying for a bowl game at (5-5). Panthers Marlin Roberts is optimistic as they return to district play after spending the last two years as an independent.
The optimism comes from the return of several tremendous young players like running back/defensive back Nydrell Thigpen and defensive end/tight end Dory Thimote.
Thigpen, despite being hurt most of the season, rushed for 1,342 yards – becoming the Panthers’ first 1000-yard rusher since Philip Bangura (1,249) in 2019. Roberts says the senior must be his workhorse again this season. Thimote had a tremendous year. He caught a team-leading six touchdown passes for the Panthers last year; while leading Gateway in tackles (84), tackles for loss (24) and sacks (12). While those two players should be the lynchpin, Roberts is hoping junior quarterback Ari Span Jr. can continue to show improvement.
The coach said the major concern is the offensive line, where he graduated three key players from a season ago.
“It really starts in the trenches and last year we finally had a decent offensive line,” he said. “We have been playing musical chairs on the line this spring, trying to find a combination that can duplicate the success from a season ago.”
Celebration coach Chris Blanton called spring football “productive” for the Storm as he installed a new offense and plugged some holes on defense. He said finding an identity on offense was the biggest mission.
Blanton said Tyce McNeal and Nick Edouard had outstanding springs and both rising seniors will either start or see significant playing time on both sides of the ball this year. After being gone a season, James Wise-Pauley returns at quarterback and with Jack Schokley and Mason Bizzack at running back, what Blanton said might be the most talented Celebration backfield in his tenure. He called spring drills “intense, productive and extremely hard-working” as they head into summer workouts.
Tohopekaliga ended its spring training with a 27-0 win over Central Florida Christian in a jamboree before meeting Cornerstone in the second half. They had a solid 9-0 lead heading into the final quarter but played second and third teamers in the fourth quarter, dropping a 13-9 decision.
Paradiso described the spring as “solid,” saying they received answers to a lot of questions. The biggest question mark for the Tigers was who would replace Sabby Meassick at quarterback, a four-year starter and the county’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns.
Rising junior Gabriel Velez backed up Meassick last year and took the majority of snaps this spring. Paradiso noted he continues to improve and will most likely be the starter heading into fall camp. AJ Wise (67 receptions, 856 yards, eight touchdowns) returns as the Tigers’ top receiver; while sophomore Zion Williams has shown big play potential.
Kesan McDuffie, is a former Tohopekaliga athlete who played last season at Apopka HS, has moved back to the district and will play his senior year for the Panthers. Paradiso sees him a “Swiss Army Knife” type player who can be plugged in at running back, wide receiver, corner or safety.
“It may be at a lot of different positions, but he going to see a lot of playing time on both sides of the ball,” Paradiso says. “I’m glad came back to Tohopekaliga for his senior season.”
