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It's a big week for Osceola
Football, as the team heads to Fayetteville for a meeting
with the undefeated Guard on Saturday at the Crown Center.
Fayetteville handed Osceola its only loss on April 1,
a narrow 58-55 loss at the Silver Spurs Arena. Osceola, ranked
third in the latest National Indoor Football League Massey
Ratings, looks to upend the Guard, ranked first in the
Massey ratings, after a momentum-seizing 40-29 win over
the Charleston Sandsharks last Saturday at the Spurs.
Osceola
ran out to a 31-0 lead in the third quarter before Coach
Marquette Smith turned to his bench to test the depth
and get those players some quality playing time in advance
of the Fayetteville game. Coach Smith may be relying
on
some of those backups to bring a win home to Osceola County.
Go
to photo gallery for Osceola vs. Charleston game
Running back Odest Shannon and defensive linemen
Terrell Showers both incurred sprained ankles during the
win over Charleston, and their roles will be determined
by how those ankles respond by game time. The Good:
The Osceola
defense held the Sandsharks scoreless for 2 1/2 quarters.
Linebacker Sam Smalls returned an interception 18 yards
for a touchdown to give the home team a 24-0 lead
going into
halftime ... Shannon extended his stellar season with another
great stat line: 11 carries, 75 yards, three touchdowns
... kicker Jeff Bacigalupi atoned for missing a late
field goal
that would have tied the Fayetteville game three weeks
ago by hitting field goals of 27 and 33 yards, the
last coming
late in the game, making the score 40-29 and forcing Charleston
to score twice ... Josh Stephens played superb on the defensive
line, notching eight tackles, a forced fumble and a sack.
The Bad: Aside from the injuries, Osceola surrendered 301
yards of offense, including 113 rushing yards on 21 carries,
a 5.4 average ground gain ... quarterbacks Ramon Robinson
and Rob Harding combined for zero touchdown passes. The
ugly: Charleston's Eddie Miller caught three touchdown
passes in
11 minutes of game action ... Osceola was outscored 29-9
in the game's last 19 minutes ... Rob Harding played at
QB in place of Ramon Robinson for most of the fourth
quarter. "It
got close enough to get my attention," Coach Smith said. "We
had guys huffing and puffing at the end, so we know conditioning
is something we have to work on this week, along with getting
in the right defense to stop Fayetteville." Osceola
Football Player of the Game: LB Sam Smalls, who returned
an interception for a touchdown and blocked a Charleston
field goal. On tap: The Fayetteville Guard features Wilmont
Perry, one of the top running backs in the NIFL. He carried
21 times for 88 yards and four scores in the Guard's win
over Osceola three weeks ago. Around the NIFL Southern Division:
Osceola's record is officially 4-1 now that the team has
been awarded a forfeit win for the April 8 game against the
West Palm Beach Phantoms, whose playing surface at the Delray
Beach Tennis Center was not ready for action ... The undefeated
Lakeland Thunderbolts are up to No. 4 in the NIFL Massey
ratings ... The Florida Frenzy scored their first win, a
66-33 dismantling of the Montgomery Maulers, who come to
the Silver Spurs Arena on April 28.
 4-17-06
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