The Osceola Warriors will head out to take on the St. Petersburg Green Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Osceola will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last.
Osceola's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They took their match at home with ease, bagging a 35-0 victory over Countryside. 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's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Gavin Galish, who threw for 183 yards and four touchdowns on only 17 passes. Steven Doletzky Jr. was in the mix too, providing Osceola with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, St. Petersburg has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 13 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Friday. They fell to Calvary Christian 33-28. That makes it the first time this season the Green Devils have let down their home crowd.
St. Petersburg might have lost, but man, Jeffery Jones was a machine: he 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.
Even though they lost, St. Petersburg was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 259 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 152 rushing yards in three consecutive contests.
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. St. Petersburg got some further help from Jacob Collins: he forced a fumble and made ten total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Osceola's record now sits at 5-2. As for St. Petersburg, the loss snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 6-2 record.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Osceola has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 166 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like St. Petersburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging 226.8. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Osceola was dealt a bruising 42-14 defeat at the hands of St. Petersburg in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. Can Osceola avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
