Football Preview: St. Petersburg Green Devils vs. Osceola Warriors
The St. Petersburg Green Devils have the luxury of staying home for another week and will welcome the Osceola Warriors at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few points on average, (St. Petersburg: 13, Osceola: 11.3) so any points scored will be well earned.
St. Petersburg's usually-dominant defense will be looking to make up for Friday's struggle, when Calvary Christian offense got past them. St. Petersburg took a 33-28 hit to the loss column at the hands of Calvary Christian. That makes it the first time this season the Green Devils have let down their home crowd.
Despite the defeat, St. Petersburg got top-tier performance from Jeffery Jones, who rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.3 yards per carry, and also threw for 75 yards and a touchdown. Jones' rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fifth straight game with at least 119 rushing yards.
St. Petersburg didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Phillip Cushingberry and Christopher Tank. Jacob Collins was another major factor on D, forcing a fumble and making ten total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Even though they lost, St. Petersburg was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 259 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved they're rushing yard total in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Osceola entered their tilt with Countryside on Friday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They blew past the Cougars 35-0 at home. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 216th, while the Cougars are ranked 529th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Osceola got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Gavin Galish out in front who threw for 183 yards and four touchdowns on only 17 passes. Noah Powers was Galish's top target, picking up 114 receiving yards and a touchdown.
St. Petersburg moved to 6-2 with that loss, which also ended their three-game winning streak. As for Osceola, their win bumped their record up to 5-2.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. St. Petersburg has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 226.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Osceola struggles in that department as they've been averaging 166. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for St. Petersburg against Osceola in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, as the squad secured a 42-14 victory. Will St. Petersburg repeat their success, or does Osceola have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
