St. Cloud, Osceola set for historic 100th meeting during football game

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - For a long time, there were only two public high schools in Osceola County: the St. Cloud Bulldogs and Osceola Kowboys. They’ve had their share of clashes on the gridiron.

"It was bragging rights for the entire county. It was bragging rights you got to carry with you for 365 days," Osceola head football coach, Eric Pinellas said.

Friday marks the 100th meeting between the two programs. Lately, this may have been lopsided, as Osceola’s won the last 12 times, but anything can happen during a rivalry game.

"We’ve talked about it every night. How it would just change everybody’s lives. It’s something they’ll never forget," St. Cloud Athletic Director, Brian Smart said.

"There’s a lot of respect on both sides. We have been in situations where both teams have knocked each other out of the playoffs at one time or another," Osceola Athletic Director, Rick Tribit said.

The Kowboys are winless through their first five games, something that hasn’t happened in nearly two decades. There’s still a party to the playoff as they kick off district play on Friday.

"We didn’t play any slouches. If I had put together a schedule that was a lot easier, then we’d probably have a false sense of security about ourselves. But we know by playing those top teams, we aren’t where we need to be," Pinellas said.

"Tomorrow night for our kids and Osceola kids, it’s just 0-0 and game number 100. It’s going to be a special night. It’ll be really what high school football is all about," Smart said.

St. Cloud last won this matchup in 2010. However, the game had to be forfeited because of player eligibility problems.