GREENLAND — Lee Larkan usually isn’t at a loss for words while hollering at his players from the sidelines or cracking jokes about them in the locker room.
Gamebreaker
GREENLAND 28, OSCEOLA 14
Why The Pirates Won
Greenland running back Calvin Giddens gained 107 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, but the Pirates’ defense made the difference while forcing seven turnovers and shutting out Osceola in the second half.
Why The Seminoles Lost
Osceola had trouble getting into much of an offensive rhythm, especially after fumbling the football twice in the first quarter. The Seminoles committed seven turnovers and watched a 14-14 halftime score turn into a 14-point loss.
But the outspoken Greenland football coach couldn’t seem to find the right word Friday night. He briefly hesitated, trying to come up with the best way to describe what he said is the school’s first time winning in the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs.
“It’s,” Larkan said, his voice trailing off. “Great.”
The Pirates (8-3) let their defense do the talking for them as they held Osceola scoreless in the second half and forced seven turnovers — including four fumbles — to hold on for a 28-14 win at Jonathan Ramey Memorial Stadium.
Greenland safety Raymond Douglass ran unblocked and laid a big hit on Osceola quarterback Maurian Carr in the end zone as the senior attempted a pass on a fourth-and-5 play from his own 5-yard line with 1 minute, 56 seconds remaining.
On the very next play, Greenland quarterback Darian Froud darted five yards for a touchdown, giving the Pirates a 14-point lead with 1:45 left. But they didn’t begin celebrating until cornerback Blade Snider stepped in front of an Osceola wide receiver and made a diving interception at the 1 with 26 seconds left.
“The big thing is the defense played great and made great plays,” Larkan said. “We hung on. The kids played hard, and that’s the No. 1 thing you have to win against a good team because (the Seminoles) are by far the best team we’ve played.”
Greenland hopes to keep its historic postseason run alive when it hosts Prescott next Friday.
Osceola (8-4) struggled to get into an offensive rhythm, especially with three-star running back Korliss Marshall forced to miss the game because of an ankle injury. Carr completed only 1 of 16 passes for seven yards, and he threw three interceptions to give Greenland an opportunity to win the time of possession battle.
“They just kind of controlled the line of scrimmage on us, and they did a good job of shutting down what we like to do,” Osceola coach Russell Leggett said.
Both teams had difficulty holding onto the football in the first half, with Osceola losing three fumbles and Greenland dropping two, including one at the goal line.
The Pirates jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Froud connected with Snider on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 8:50 remaining in the first quarter. The score came two plays after the Seminoles’ first fumble of the night, and Greenland looked to add to it after recovering the ensuing onside kick.
But Osceola took advantage of Greenland’s mistakes.
With the Pirates leading 14-8 and on the verge of increasing it, running back Calvin Giddens took the handoff, but fumbled as he approached the goal line with 8:59 left in the first half. The Seminoles recovered the fumble, then marched for a 99-yard drive that was capped with a 39-yard touchdown run by Jamal Jackson.
Still, Giddens finished with 26 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns.