Football Wins Battle of Unbeatens

Kissimmee Osceola entered Friday’s (Oct. 5) game at Corral Memorial Stadium with a 29-game regular season win streak, dating back to 2015.

When it was over, it was the Tigers’ win streak that was intact. Jesuit improved to 6-0 this season with big 21-7 win.

Aside from allowing a 65-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter, the Jesuit defense was absolutely dominant. The Tigers allowed just a handful of first downs and kept the Kowboys on their end of the field all night.

Defensive lineman Raleigh Oxendine ‘20, Jacob Tauber ’19, and Patrick Leone ’19 controlled the line of scrimmage while linebackers Brett Gerena ’20, Jaden Pask ’19, Christian Beatty ’19, and Myles Coates ’21 buzzed around making tackles for loss or short gains.

Defensive backs Dane Belton ’19 and Junior Vandeross ’22 had game-turning plays. Belton’s 45-yard punt return TD in the 1st quarter gave the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish.

In the 2nd quarter, Vandeross alertly fell on a muffed punt at the Osceola 25. With the short field, QB Kiael Kelly ’21 got the Tigers close to the goal line, and Larry Hodges ’19 took a direct snap and ran it in to make it 14-0 at the half.

Up 7 with four minutes to go, safety Zack Meurer ’19 finished it off with a scoop-and-score 15-yard fumble recovery after Gerena and Coates had knocked the ball loose. And Vandeross provided the icing on the cake with a one-handed interception in the end zone in the final seconds.

Jesuit travels to District rival Robinson next week, then returns to host unbeaten Clearwater Central Catholic on Oct. 19 before hosting Middleton for Homecoming on Oct. 26.

A photo slideshow from Friday’s win over Osceola is below.