By:  J. Daniel Pearson

A non-district matchup between Tohopekaliga (3-2) and Lake Brantley (4-1) highlights the Week 7 football schedule for Osceola County schools.

The Tigers went to 1-0 in district play with a big road win over Harmony last week (Read about that game here:   Tohopekaliga Tigers Capitalize on Turnovers to Top Harmony Longhorns 28-16 in District Clash ) and although this game will have no bearing on the District 10, 7A race, it still could have significant impact on the playoffs.

Only district champions are guaranteed playoff spots and a win over the Patriots would certainly look good on the Tigers resume for a possible at-large bid should they not win the district title.  “They are one of top teams in Central Florida and we are playing them on the road,” Tohopekaliga coach Anthony Paradiso says.  “So I really would not say we have any pressure on us.  We are going the approach this game like we do every game.  It’s one of 10 and our goal is to play our best game and improve from last week.”

The game should be a showcase of two of the better quarterbacks in the area.  Lake Brantley sophomore Jackson Stetcher suffered his first loss of the season last week to an outstanding Seminole (43-21) team.  He is an excellent dual threat quarterback who had 10 TD passes with no interceptions and six rushing touchdowns in his first four games. Davon Washington (26.4 yards per catch) is his deep ball threat.

Tohopekaliga will counter with senior Sabby Meassick.  The Osceola County all-time leader in passing yards, he threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns with no picks against Harmony.  Halfway through the season, Meassick has thrown for 1700 yards with 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions.  The Tigers ability to run the ball in recent weeks (240 yards in last two games) should take some pressure off the Tigers’ passing game.

Fresh off a huge district win over Lake Nona on Friday night (25-17), St. Cloud (4-2, 1-0) will most likely be favored to win their fifth game of the season when they host independent Gateway (2-4).

“Out message is the same, we are in no position to take any team lightly,” St. Cloud head coach Mike Short said.  “The Panthers defense is very good.  They may not have a ton of depth, but they definitely have some playmakers and you know they are going to be well coached.”

St. Cloud’s defense came up big against Lake Nona last week, forcing five turnovers.  QB Jeremiah Lattier threw for one touchdown and ran for another in the win.  Gateway is coming off their second win of the year, a 30-0 shutout of Liberty,

Coach Marlin Roberts says his defense played really well but his team still is “shooting themselves in the foot” with too many penalties.  DE/TE Dori Thimote had a huge game for the Panthers, catching a touchdown pass and added a couple of quarterback sacks.  Nydrell Thigpen scored twice for Gateway.

The Gateway – St. Cloud rivalry is the second oldest between Osceola schools.

Independent Poinciana (2-3) looks to get back to .500 this week when they travel to Lake Region (3-3).   The Eagles are coming off a bye week after beating Haines City (36-13) for the first time in school history.

“It was a good time for a bye week,” Eagles coach Taron Mallard said.  “We had some time to get healthy. It’s been a different season for us this year. We lost two games this year (Harmony and St. Cloud) that we won last year but we beat Haines City for the first time ever.  I think that win gave us some momentum and our goal of matching the eight wins of last year is certainly obtainable.”

Liberty (0-5) travels to Celebration (0-5), with both teams searching for their first win.  The schools have played one common opponent this year, Winter Springs, with Celebration losing 17-3 and Liberty dropping a 60-0 decision two weeks later.   The Storm won last year’s game with the Chargers, 35-8.

Osceola (4-2, 1-0) and Harmony (3-3, 0-1) hit their bye weeks.  The Kowboys struggled and had to hold on last Friday in an 18-10 win over Melbourne.  Head coach Eric Pinellas called the game perplexing.  “We lose our leading rusher (Jaxson Hardnett) on the first play of the game to a high ankle sprain but we still jump out to an 18-0 lead,” Pinellas said.  “Then some strange things kept happening.  We have a touchdown called back, they make a big play and then the momentum just shifts.  I’ll be honest, I just don’t think we played very well.”

Led by Kymarion Johnson’s 98 yards, Melbourne rushed for 165 yards as a team.  “ I can’t remember the last time but its been a least three years since a team rushed for 100 yards against us.”

Pinellas says the bye week comes at a great time. Osceola sat out DB/WR Jakyri Watson last week and expects him back for its next game, but Hardnett may be lost until the playoffs.

The Kowboys can clinch the division title win a home win against Viera (Oct. 10).

Harmony coach Don Simon says despite last week’s loss to Tohopekaliga, his team has a lot to play for.  “A tie for the district title is still possible, a winning season and a huge rivalry game with St. Cloud,” the veteran coach said.  “We nee to take this week, get healthy and get better.”

The Longhorns return to action Oct. 10 at Lake Nona in a district clash.

Week 7 Schedule

Tohopekaliga at Lake Brantley

Gateway at St. Cloud

Liberty at Celebration

Poinciana at Lake Region

Bye Week –Osceola, Harmony