Kissimmee Osceola junior Bo Mascoe intercepted three passes in the second quarter on Friday to spark a dominant defensive effort for last year’s Class 8A state runners-up.
The Kowboys (2-1, 1-0) blocked a punt, tallied two sacks, and came away with four turnovers during a 40-14 win at Olympia (1-2, 0-1) in a District 9 opener for both teams.
Osceola entered the contest at No. 7 in the area Sentinel Super 16 rankings. Olympia, which dropped its second in a row, was slotted at No. 16. The beginning of the game was delayed one hour due to lightning.
With under seven minutes remaining in the first half, Mascoe ran underneath an overthrown ball along the home sideline then swerved past opposing players while going 65 yards the other way for a touchdown.
“I just seen green grass,” Mascoe said of the return. “I seen the quarterback coming [toward the end of the play] and I just knew I had to dodge him.”
Mascoe dove to the turf for his second INT when a pass was tipped off the hands of an intended receiver three plays later. Senior running back Ja’Randy Swint, who led all players with 86 yards on 12 carries, promptly reached the end zone on a 13-yard run.
The third interception, while in one-on-one coverage along Osceola’s sideline, took place inside the final minute of the first half. That effort ensured the Kowboys a 21-0 lead at the break moments after Jeremiah Wilson blocked a punt attempt, which set up a 2-yard TD run by freshman Taevion Swint.
“We know we can always rely on the defense,” Osceola coach Eric Pinellas said. “Our offense could probably play a little more relaxed. We turned the football over and had a bunch of penalties, but we’ll fix that.”
Olympia kept pace with the Kowboys throughout the first quarter while generating takeaways on back-to-back drives.
Junior Maalik Duffy tipped an Osceola pass in the end zone and sophomore Jalon Thompson leaped to make an interception with close to three minutes to go in the quarter. After going 3-and-out, junior Joey Evans recovered a fumble on a botched option run play with 52 seconds to go.
Towering junior defensive tackle John Walker ended the ensuing possession for Olympia by notching the first of his game-high two sacks on fourth down.
“We put a lot of pressure on them up front,” Walker said. “That’s how we were able to make some big plays. We’ve just got to keep on doing that.”
The Titans got within two scores twice in the second half on a pair of touchdown tosses from senior quarterback CJ Brooks.
Olympia opened the third quarter with a 10-play drive that resulted in a 16-yard catch over the middle by junior tight end David Dupuis to make it 21-7.
Sophomore Romelo Walker turned his lone reception into a 53-yard score with 10 minutes, 40 seconds remaining to get the Titans within 27-14.
Taevion Swint reached the end zone for the second time and junior Drevon Lee returned a fumble more than 80 yards for a score to put the finishing touches on the night for Osceola. Swint rushed seven times for 70 yards.
Senior QB Chad Mascoe rushed for a TD in the third quarter and junior Izaiah Jean-Baptiste caught four passes for 59 yards for the Kowboys.
Brooks completed 17 of 33 passes for 240 yards for Olympia. Victor Jones Jr. finished with six receptions for 96 yards and sophomore Josh Evans tallied four catches for 43 yards.
Osceola goes on the road Friday to play at Bradenton Manatee (0-3). The Hurricanes are in their first season under former University of Florida wide receiver Jacquez Green as head coach.
Olympia returns home to host Orlando University (1-3). Both games are schedule to kickoff at 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.
