By: J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola
Week three of the high school football season is upon us and only two of the county’s eight public football teams will enter the week undefeated. Tohopekaliga and St. Cloud posted convincing wins last week to move to 2-0; with the Tigers routing Lyman (42-0) and St. Cloud posting a nearly identical score in a win over Pine Ridge (41-0).
Tohopekaliga will face a tough test on the road against Hagerty (1-1), a team that beat the Tigers 26-14 last year. The Huskies are led by dual threat quarterback Royce Jenkins, who threw for 245 and ran for 87 in a season opening win over Lake Howell but was bottled up a little in a 22-16 loss to Boone (2-0) last week.
“It’s going to be a tough road challenge, Hagerty is a tough team, and you know they are going to well-coached,” Tohopekaliga coach Anthony Paradiso says. “I have been pleased with our early season play. Our offensive line, running backs and linebackers are doing a great job and the defensive line has improved each week since the opening of training camp. To be totally honest, this is the best overall effort I have seen from our team in the four years I have been here. We still have room for improvement, especially on special teams.”
Tohopekaliga was impressive in their win over Lyman, which went to a running clock in the third quarter. Record-setting senior quarterback Sabby Meassick had a huge game, hitting 24 for 34 for 516 yards, 6 touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw touchdown passes to four different receivers, including Tre Punter (5-110-2 TD), Josiah Hall (7-158-4), AJ Wise (4-145-2) and Xaevez Brown (2-20-1). Meassick has been extremely accurate this season, completing 74% of his passes with 11 TDs and 0 interceptions.
St. Cloud will be on the road but should be favored to move to 3-0 when they play at Poinciana at 7 p.m. Friday night. “We will not be taking anything for granted,” Coach Mike Short said about the opponent– who dropped a 55-20 decision to Harmony to fall to 1-1. “Whether we overlooked them or not last year, the fact is they beat us (a 19-7 setback). We’re in no position to overlook anyone and that will be the message this week.”
Sophomore QB Jeremiah Lattier had a big game for the Bulldogs, throwing for 344 yards and three scores and rushing for 83 and scoring two more – accounting for five TDs in the game. Bryce Williams (3 receptions, 102 yards, 3 TDs) was his top target.
Although St. Cloud has outscored its two opponents by a 96-8 this season, Short says he has been most impressed by his team’s defensive efforts this year. “I knew going in we had a strong secondary, but our people in the box have been playing really solid football this year. Our linebackers have been doing their job and our DL has been getting pressure up front and that is without one of our best linebackers Chase Gilbert, who missed last week but should be back this week.”
Against Poinciana, St. Cloud will have to contend with two explosive offensive players — as quarterback Kamari Lewis threw for 164 yards and ran for 127 against the Longhorns; while Chance Frazier caught nine passes for 164 yards in the Harmony loss.
Harmony (1-1) coming off that big win against the Eagles and look for its second in a row when it travels to Sebastian River (0-2). The Sharks were listed as 7-6 forfeit loser to Ft. Pierce Central in a game that was stopped with four minutes to go in the first quarter.
“I am not sure exactly what happened in that game, I know it went just eight minutes before they had a weather delay and I wasn’t aware that it was listed as a forfeit loss,” Harmony coach Don Simon said. “I do know this. Sebastian is a physical team, have good size and will present a challenge.” Sebastian defeated Harmony last year, 29-7.
In scoring 55 points last week, Harmony had its biggest offensive production in five years. Landon Yaw threw for three touchdowns and ran for two others in the game. “It’s been a process,” Simon, who returned to the Longhorns this season after a two-year stint as AD at Tohopekaliga, said. “We started opening up our playbook to become a more balanced team. We knew it would take some time.”
Osceola (1-1) dropped a disappointing 17-12 decision to 2024 State 7A finalist Lake Mary last week after leading 12-3 at halftime. They jump right back into a tough game with a road game at Winter Haven (2-0) this week. (Read about Lake Mary Game Here: Second-Half Mistakes Prove Costly as Kowboys Fall to Lake Mary, 17-12 ).
The Blue Devils, a 2024 playoff team, have not allowed a point this season in beating Zephryhills Christian Academy (45-0) and Lake Region (36-0).
Osceola will go into the game shorthanded as both starting tight end Cole Vanderkin has been ruled out and starting running back Jeffrey Sinophat (foot) is highly doubtful. Explosive WR Aliijah Jenkins is listed day-to-day.
Coach Eric Pinellas calls this week’s opponent a typical Polk County team. “I remember playing them in high school and coaching against them through the years. On tape they are a physical team, something you always know you are going to get when you play games in Polk County,” Pinellas added that the injuries will give some younger players a chance to step up. “Our mentality is always next man up. If Jeff can’t go this is an opportunity for Javonty Barnett to step up.” Pinellas added that senior running back Jaxson Hardnett would play an expanded role. “Jaxson was definitely a bright spot for us against Lake Mary, the kid runs extremely hard and loves to play football. He will have an expanded role for us this week.”
Gateway (0-2), a 21-0 loser to Astronaut last week, will seek its first win of the year when it hosts Cypress Creek (0-2) on Friday night. To date, it has been a disappointing season for the Panthers and head coach Marlin Roberts– who believes both games this season were more than winnable.
“We weren’t beaten as much as we gave both games away,” Roberts said. “Almost every point we have given up has come off our own mistakes, penalties and turnovers. Conversely, we have had ample opportunities to score this year and have shot ourselves in the foot.”
Roberts points out that Astronaut’s first two touchdowns came on botched snaps during Panther punt attempts.
“For the first time in a number of years, we have depth and talent on our defense and we have some guys who can be explosive on the offense,” Roberts added. “We need to find a way to score some points.”
Celebration (0-2) and liberty (0-1) will be looking for their first wins of the season. The Storm, 17-3 loser to Winter Springs (2-0) last week, will play their third straight road game to open the season when they travel to Lake Region (0-2) on Friday night; while Liberty is coming off a bye week and will host Oak Ridge (0-2) Friday night.
