Tohopekaliga (2-2. 0-0) travels to Harmony (3-2.0-0) this Thursday as District Play begins this Thursday for five of the eight county schools.
With no school on Friday, schools had the option of playing football games on Thursday night and the Tigers – Longhorns match-up, 7:30 p.m. at “The Ranch,” is critically important for both teams in the Class 7A, District 10 race.
The only guaranteed path to the state playoffs is to win a district title and with only four teams in the district (Lake Nona and St. Cloud are the others), getting off to a 1-0 start is paramount for both the Tigers and Longhorns.
Both teams are coming off tough losses, with Harmony dropping a 26-10 decision to Lake Howell (4-1) and Tohopekaliga (22-44) losing to Viera (Read story here: Big Plays Cost Tohopekaliga in 44-22 Loss to Viera Under Friday Night Lights ).
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the schools, with Harmony holding a 3-1 series edge over Tohopekaliga – which opened in 2018. The Tigers won for the first time in the series last year, 14-9.
The game could come down to a matchup between the Harmony defense and Tohopekaliga’s pass-happy offense. Led by senior quarterback Sabby Meassick (1300 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, 5 interceptions), the Tigers are averaging 29.7 points per game; while the Longhorns defense is allowing just a shade over 20 per game.
Several other factors could play in.
Behind quarterback Landon Hayes, the Longhorns offense has been much-improved this year, scoring at a 25.6 points per game average compared to a 11.0 average over the last two seasons. On the other side of the coin, Tohopekaliga averaged just over 30 yards rushing heading into last week’s Viera game, but found some balance as Xaevez Brown and Gavin Aponte combined for 150 rushing yards.
Friday’s loss was a bit misleading for the Longhorns. A Damarion Moore rushing touchdown made it a 13-10 game with just seven minutes to play, but Lake Howell ran back the ensuring kickoff for a touchdown then tacked on a late score for the 26-10 final.
“It was a fun game and it was a physical game,” Harmony coach Don Simon said. “The defenses were in control for pretty much the entire game. Several mistakes gave both teams some openings, and they took advantage of our mistakes.”
In addition to the running of Moore, Simon praised the play of his defense, especially defensive linemen Mekhi Ealy and Brody Malukiewicz.
An equally important D-10 match-up takes place on Friday, when defending district champion Lake Nona (3-2, 0-0) travels to St. Cloud (3-2, 0-0). Merritt Island (4-1) erased a 21-10 fourth quarter deficit last week to upend the Bulldogs, 24-21. “Based on the decisions you make, a football coach is either a genius or a fool,” St. Cloud coach Mike Short. “We had an 11-point lead, possession, and a fourth and goal from the two and we decided to go for a game-clinching touchdown. It turned out to be a bad decision, They marched 98 yards in five plays, scored, got the ball back again and scored the winning touchdown. That loss falls squarely on me and the coaches.”
Although his team came up empty, Short was pleased with his team’s efforts on several fronts. “For a second week in a row, we played a really good team in a hostile environment. Our defense played really well in both games and on Friday, Owen Sullivan (7 catches -110 yards-3 TDs) had the best game of his career.”
Lake Nona will present a third consecutive physical opponent for the Bulldogs. Although their passing game is suspect with Lake Morgan completing just 44% of his passes with six touchdowns and 10 interceptions; the Lions have a rugged defense led by senior edge rusher Deanthony Lafayette (13 TFL, 9 quarterback sacks) and a ball-hawkish secondary led by Luke Ramsey, who has two of the Lions six team interceptions.
St. Cloud coach Michael Short says the game should have a playoff atmosphere. “With only three district games, they are all vitally important and the winner of this game will definitely have a leg up,” he says. “The key for us will be to move the ball efficiently and get a great defensive effort because we are expecting a low-scoring, rugged game.”
For the fourth time in as many years, Osceola lost a hard-fought close game to state power Jones. This time, the Kowboys dominated the stats but gave up 21 points in a period of just minutes as Jones scored on offense, followed with a scoop and score for a touchdown and then blocked a punt recovered in the end zone. From that point forward, Osceola outscored Jones 14-7.
“Those two plays (blocked punt and fumble for TD) really was the difference in the game. For a fifth straight game, our defense played dominating football, only to let it slip away with mistakes,” OHS coach Eric Pinellas said.
“Overall, it was disappointing, but we have to learn to start fast and finish fast. Like the Lake Mary game it was a tough loss to a great team. But here’s the thing, we are in the exact same place we were a year ago. We fell to 3-2 last season when we lost to Jones. We went on to win our district and we didn’t lose another game until the state championship. We need to put this one behind us, win the next two and we are back in the playoffs,” he added.
Osceola plays in a small three team district with the Viera Hawks (4-1) and Melbourne Bulldogs (4-1). The Kowboys open 6A, District 5 play at Melbourne on Friday. Although the Bulldogs have just one loss, the record may be a little deceiving as their wins came against opponents with a combined 5-14 record and MaxPreps ranks them considerably behind Osceola (31-182) in the state,
The key to the game will be for the Kowboys defense to clamp down on the Melbourne running game. Led by freshman Tyrese Jefferson (75.8 yards per game), the Bulldogs are averaging 184 yards rushing per game. In five games this season, Osceola’s defense has given up a grand total of 79 net rushing yards on 79 carries. Overall, the Kowboys have allowed just 110 yards of total offense per game thus far against a schedule that has included four 2024 playoff teams.
First week of district play wraps up this week with Celebration (0-4, 0-0) hosting undefeated East Ridge (5-0, 0-0)in its 7A-9 opener. The Storm’s biggest problem this season has come on offense, where they have only scored 17 total points all year, including seven in a 21-7 loss to Space Coast last Friday. Celebration will be facing a team that has excelled on both sides of the ball, averaging 45 points a game and allowing just 7.6 per contest. Those numbers included Friday’s 49-7 win over Ridge Community.
In non-district action, county independents Gateway (1-4) travels to Liberty (0-3) on Thursday night. The Panthers have had an interesting but disappointing season to date. Gateway’s inability to pass the ball, has put a ton of pressure on running backs Nydrell Thigpen and Honor Kim. “Teams have been stacking the box against us all year because they know we struggle to throw the ball,” Panthers coach Marlin Roberts says. “We have gotten really good defensive play this year and with any passing offense at all, we could just as easily be 4-1.” Last week, Gateway led Winter Springs (4-1) at half, 14-7, but gave up three second-half scores in a 28-20 loss. Omar Scott rushed for four touchdowns for the Bears in the win. Liberty (0-3) remained winless but competitive in a 30-20 loss to Freedom. The Chargers fell behind 30-6 at halftime but outscored the Patriots, 14-0, in the second half.
Poinciana (2-3) was the only Osceola County team to come away with a win last weekend, 36-13, over Haines City. After Taron Mallard made some changes to his offensive line, the Eagles responded with 400 yards of total offense in beating Haines City for the first time in school history. QB Kamari Lewis accounted for three touchdowns, Chance Frazier had both a rushing and receiving score and Daveon Williams also rushed for one in the win.
The Eagles are off this week. “For the first time this season, it feels like we are heading in the direction we envisioned,” Mallard said. “We need to win the bye week and by that I mean we need to have a great week of practice and build on what we did last week.”
WEEK 6 ACTION
Thursday, Sept. 25
Tohopekaliga at Harmony, 7 p.m. (7A, District 10)
Gateway at Liberty, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 26
Osceola at Melbourne (6A, District 5)
Lake Nona at St. Cloud, 7 p.m. (7A, District 10)
East Ridge at Celebration, 7 p.m. (7A, District 9)
Bye Week – Poinciana
