By: J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola
Published 9/10/2025
Osceola will host St. Cloud on Friday night at Markus Paul Stadium at Henry Ramsey Field 7 p.m. It will be the 102nd time the two teams have met and it’s the fifth oldest series in Florida.
It would be next to impossible to not admit the game has lost some of its luster. The Kowboys have dominated the series with a 70-27-4 lead and have won the last 14 in a row (20 if you acknowledge St. Cloud’s last win in 2010 was later forfeited because of an ineligible player issue). Although the game drew a huge crowd on the 100th meeting at Osceola in 2023, attendance has been a far cry from the 10,000 fans that used to jam the old Silver Spurs Arena decades ago for a neutral site game.
Some have even gone so far to suggest the series has become so uncompetitive that it should just end.
But St. Cloud head coach Mike Short scoffs at that suggestion. “No way, no how! As long as I am here and long after I’m gone, this game needs to be played. High school football is about tradition, it’s about rivalries and it’s about bragging rights. They may have gotten the best of us lately, but we’re not afraid of a challenge. Besides (he said with a smile) when we win this game, it’s going to be a great party on this side of the canal and it will talked about for decades.”
Osceola coach Eric Pinellas agrees with the tradition and what the game means. “Great-grandfathers, grandfathers, fathers and uncles of our current team members have played in this game, it still means a lot to the fans of both teams and to the community in general. We may have gotten the best of it in recent years, but trust me when I tell you that it still means a lot. No Kowboys player wants to say they were on this team when the streak ends.”
“I don’t think there’s any question that Harmony is now our biggest rival,” St. Cloud Athletics Director and former coach Bryan Smart added. “But the Osceola game is still a big-time game for us. Because of conference realignment, a lot of great historical games have disappeared at the college level. I would never want that to happen at the high school level for game’s like this.”
St. Cloud comes into the week with some momentum and a 3-0 record. Sophomore Jeremiah Lattier appears to the next in a long-line of successful Bulldog quarterbacks. Cameron Dalton is a carbon-copy of departed running back TJ Griffin and receivers Stacy Taylor and Bryce Williams have made up for the production from the graduation of Alex Springs.
Last week, that new offense put on a show – scoring 41 points in a win over Poinciana where Lattier threw two touchdown passes.
But it is on the defense, where Short says the Bulldogs are much-improved over previous seasons. In wins over Poinciana, Freedom and Pine Ridge, St. Cloud has allowed just 6.7 points per game. “We knew we were pretty solid in the backfield, but the big difference has come in the box,” Short said. “We are a lot more physical at linebacker and on the defensive line than we were a year ago.”
And while the Bulldogs is much improved, St. Cloud must still find a way to slow the Osceola running game. The Kowboys have played a more competitive schedule and have still grounded out 200 rushing yards per game in their 2-1 start.
Although they were without Jeffrey Sinophat and the explosive Alijah Jenkins, the Kowboys rushed for 200 yards against Winter Haven despite playing the entire second half under a running clock. Jakyri Watson returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown as Osceola raced off to a 33-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in a 46-6 win.
And while the Osceola offense was humming, it was its defense put on another outstanding show. The Blue Devils only score came when they recovered an Kowboys’ fumble in the end zone, which means the Osceola defense has only allowed one offensive touchdown in three games this season.
“Our defense was incredible last week,” Pinellas said. Despite having almost all new players in the box, they are still making it next to impossible to run against them and we now have four seniors in the defensive backfield. Moving Watson to safety has been a key. He’s like having a coach in the defensive backfield.”
Lake Mary who beat Osceola 17-12 two weeks ago, may have provided a glimpse on how to beat the Kowboys. Although they were outgained 347-125 in the game, they only gave up two big plays and forced Osceola to score on long drives. They recorded stops on four of those six drives to keep the game close. They were able to score 10 points off two sustained drives and added a special teams touchdown in the win.
That game contrasts sharply to last year’s Osceola – St. Cloud game where the Kowboys took a quick 21-0 first quarter lead — scoring on their first three possessions on runs of 85, 44 and 14 yards.
“No question, we have to make them earn every point. Regardless of the level of football, it is hard for any team to sustain and score when you have to run 10+ plays,” Short said. “They are too talented on both sides of the ball to allow them score quickly. We need to generate some offense, we need to make them earn their points and we need to take advantage of any chances we get from turnovers or stops. Special teams will also be a key. They are so good in the return game and we can’t give up big plays.”
Around the County:
Lake Region (1-2) at Gateway (1-2), 7 p.m.
Head coach Marlin Roberts and his team were extremely frustrated with an 0-2 start – believing their defense played well enough to win both games. That frustration turned to smiles last week as Gateway shut out Cypress Creek, 36-0. Still, Roberts would like to see more consistency from his offense, including the decision making at quarterback. Gateway may have found another offensive weapon in Honor Kim, who broke off a 32-yard touchdown run. Roberts hopes Kim can help take some of the pressure off Nydrell Thigpen, who has provided most of the Panthers offense this season but has been hampered with injuries. Defensively, Dory Thimote continues to have all standout season with three quarterback sacks and a two tackles-for-loss last week to go with a 12-yard touchdown reception.
Clewiston (1-2) at Harmony (2-1), 7 p.m.
This is a late schedule change after Bay Side backed out of a home game with the Longhorns late last week. It sent Harmony scrambling for a replacement and Clewiston – who found themselves with an opening – agreed to travel to “The Ranch.” Harmony coach Don Simon noted he found out about the chance late last week but was happy they found an opponent. Last week, Harmony ran the ball well and stopped the run in a hard-fought 19-7 win over Sebastian River. Damarion Moore rushed for 145 yards and two scores; while the Longhorns defense limited Sebastian to just one rushing yard on 16 attempts and 140 yards of total offense. Brayden Buehler kicked a pair of field goals and accounted for seven points in the win.
Winter Springs (1-2) at Liberty (0-2) 7 p.m.
Although winless in its first two games, Liberty has shown a lot of progress under Janko Beras – losing a tough 32-26 game to Oakridge on Friday night.
Poinciana (1-2) at Evans (2-1), 7 p.m.
After dropping a 41-12 decision to St. Cloud last week, Taron Mallard’s team faces a huge challenge in Evans this week. The Trojans gave undefeated West Orange (3-0) all they wanted in Week 1 (28-18) and followed it up with a 35-0 thrashing of Apopka before knocking off 2024 state runner-up Jones, 28-25, last Saturday.
Celebration, Tohopekaliga Bye
The Storm (0-2) and Tigers (2-1) hit their bye weeks after suffering losses last week. Celebration lost a tough 8-7 road decision to Lake Region on Friday; while the Tigers fell behind early in a 49-20 decision to Hagerty. In that game, Tohopekaliga QB Sabby Meassick threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns with AJ Wise (8-52-1) and Tre Punter (5-70-1) each grabbing TD passes. Meassick reaches 1000 yards (13 TD passes, 1 pick) in just three games this season; while freshman Josiah Hall is off to a great start to his career –averaging 94 yards receiving per game.
