High School

5 takeaways from Jones' thrilling overtime win over Kissimmee Osceola

The Fightin' Tigers overcame a 15-point deficit to rally and defeat the Kowboys on Thursday night

Andy Villamarzo

Andy Villamarzo

KISSIMMEE- A game that truly could've went either way, came down to the last play.

On a fourth down pass attempt in overtime, Jones was able to bat away the would-be game tying touchdown throw by Kissimmee Osceola's Camren West and come away with a thrilling 34-28 victory at Markus Paul Stadium.

In arguably one of Central Florida's most exciting games of the season, the Fightin' Tigers maintained their undefeated record despite trailing for a good majority of the contest.

SBLive Sports was on hand for the contest and give you five takeaways from the game:

Clock management costed Kissimmee Osceola the game

One thing that is underrated on all levels is the stressing of good clock management. For Kissimmee Osceola, it ended up burning them at the end.

In the fourth quarter and the game still in the balance, tied at 28-all, the Kowboys (3-2) were driving with a chance to take the lead. Osceola head coach Eric Pinellas decided with under six minutes to go facing a 4th and short situation to burn multiple timeouts.

The first timeout was taken in deciding whether to go for it or not. Pinellas opted to hard count the Tigers' defense, but to no avail. Pinellas then took his second timeout of the series, his final one he had in regulation. The Kowboys ended up going for it, but didn't convert and turned the ball over on downs.

Fast forward to the final minute of regulation and the Kowboys were driving to get within field range with no timeouts. Osceola got inside of Jones' 15-yard line with around 16 seconds remaining, but had no way of stopping the clock on fourth and inches. Unknowingly to Pinellas and his staff, the decision, maybe unbeknowest to his quarterback, was to run a play or try and get the field goa unit on the field.

Instead, West spiked the ball, causing a turnover on downs with three seconds remaining. If the Kowboys had one timeout at their disposal, they could've lined up for the game-winning field goal and celebrated a huge win. Instead, they'll have to wonder would could've been.

Dereon Coleman is as dangerous as they come to dual-threat quarterbacks

Seeing the Miami (FL) commitment up live and personal, a takeaway not too long into the contest was seeing the arm talent and elusiveness of Coleman. The 2026 prospect threw multiple touchdowns outside of the pocket and notched first downs with his legs. The Hurricanes are getting a very talented young man and Coleman showed why he’s one of the best dual-threats around.

Coleman ended the contest completing 23-of-38 passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns. What a night for the future Hurricane.

Taevion Swint looked good against a stout Jones’ front seven

When it comes to top notch defenses in Central Florida, Jones is up there with just about anyone. A healthy Swint, however, can run with the best of them. The UCF commit looked fast and with the ability to finish runs. Swint, who finished with 98 yards on 14 attempts, did so on a 31-yard touchdown run, as he lowered his shoulder to deliver a punishing hit at the end.

UCF head coach Gus Malzahn on hand for the game

The Knights’ boss took in a high school football game on a breezy Thursday night in Kissimmee and certainly didn’t walk away disappointed. Malzahn got to see a healthy Swint run the rock and make numerous plays. The UCF head coach also got to see some other playmakers, including Osceola’s Allijah Jenkins on a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown right in front of him. A good night to see 407 talent.

STORY: Gus Malzahn watches as UCF commit takes one to the house

Tandem of Vernell Brown III/Larry Miles is tough to stop

We couldn’t help but see a couple of the state’s better wide receiver tandems in Brown-Miles and the two didn’t disappoint. Whether it was Coleman hitting Brown on quick passes or shooting for a long touchdown to Miles, the Fightin’ Tigers showed why they have arguably the best 1-2 punch at the wide receiver position. Not too many units are as good as this one over at Jones. Brown ended with 10 catches for 134 yards and Miles had the game's eventual go-ahead touchdown. Huge night for the dynamic duo.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl

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Andy Villamarzo

ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

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