By:  J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola

After opening the season with four straight road games, Tohopekaliga head coach Anthony Paradiso said it felt good to get back home.  But the guess here is it didn’t feel nearly as good as the Tigers fourth straight win – a 34-8 district victory over in-county rival Harmony.

Senior AJ Wise was a major cog in the victory, catching touchdown passes of 40 and 24 yards and piling up more 224 all-purpose yards in earning the Osceola Air Player of the Week award for the Tigers.

Wise gave Tohopekaliga a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter when he went up high for a Gabe Valez pass, tipped it to himself, eluded two would be tacklers and raced into the end zone.

He added a sensation over the shoulder grab in the fourth to extend the lead to 31-0, finishing the contest with 10 catches for 138 yards.  He also added 88 yards on three returns in the game.

“AJ has been so important to this team for a long time,” Paradiso said.  “I felt he should have been OBC first team last year when he led the county in receiving yards (67-856-9 TD) and this year he has picked up where he has left off.”

But Wise was not the only standout of the night for the Tigers.

Quarterback Gabe Valez completed a season-high 35 of 49 passes for 284 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception.  Tayshaun Dillard averaged more than 12 yards on four receptions, Jeovanni Smith caught eight passes for 49 yards and Zion William posted 6 receptions and added a 10-yard touchdown catch.  On the ground, Valez added 37 rushing yards and Kesan McDuffie busted off a 29-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers defense also had its moments.  They recovered three fumbles and registered three quarterback sacks.

Special teams were also special.  In addition to 88 return yards by Wise, kicker Dinari Toney became the first player to hit two field goals in one game in the Tigers nine-year history.  The second of which came in the game’s waning moments for 40-yards out.  “We normally would have just run the clock out but Dinari has been working so hard all year, we just felt he deserved a chance to set some school history,” Paradiso added. “Overall, I thought we played well in all three phases of the game tonight.”

Ben Nurmi accounted for the lone Harmony score on a eight-yard touchdown reception from sophomore Cooper Halquist.  Scott Hilliard rushed for 50 yards for the Longhorns.

The win pushed the Tigers to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in district play; while the Longhorns fell to 1-5 and 0-2 in the district.  Tohopekaliga has a tough non-district game on tap next week when it hosts New Smyrna Beach (4-0) in a Homecoming game; while Harmony hits its bye week.

“It will certainly be a challenge next week, especially with the distractions that come with homecoming,” Paradiso said.  “But we will approach it like we do every week.  We’ll work hard, worry about the things we can control, and try to get better.”

In other action on Thursday night, Nydrell Thigpen went over the 200-yard rushing mark for a third straight game in leading Gateway to a 42-0 win over upstart Nova Lakes.  The win pushed the Panthers to 5-0 for the first time in school history.

Positively Osceola’s 2026 high school football coverage is made possible by our outstanding Community Business Partners: Osceola County Clerk & Comptroller Kelvin Soto; Orlando Health; Orlando Health St. Cloud Hospital; Osceola County Supervisor of Elections; Huff’s Quality Air Conditioning; Osceola County Sheriff’s Office; Osceola Air AC & Plumbing Pros; Toho Water Authority; and Starling Chevrolet GMC in St. Cloud, and Toho Water.

Scoring Summary

Harmony 0 0 0 8 —  8

Tohopekaliga 7 7 10 10 –34

T:  Zion Williams 10 pass from Gabe Valez (Dinari Toney kick)

T: AJ Wise 40 pass from Valez (Toney Kick)

T:  FG, Toney 31

T:  Kesan McDuffie 29 run (Toney kick)

T:  Wise 24 pass from Valez (Toney kick)

H;  Ben Nurmi 8 pass from Cooper Halquist (pass good)

T:  FG, Toney 40