Osceola
Coach: George Palmer (25th season, 116-133)
Last season: 6-4
Class/district: 6A-7
Colors: Orange and royal blue
Stadium: Warrior Stadium, 9750 98th St. N., Seminole
Playoff history: 1990, 1993, 1994, 2003, 2006, 2012
Last appearance: Lost 42-7 to Osceola.
Season schedule
Aug. 29vs Seminole, 7:30
Sept. 5at Tarpon Springs, 7:30
Sept. 12at Pinellas Park, 7:30
Sept. 19vs. Boca Ciega, 7:30
Sept. 26at Dunedin, 7:30
Oct. 2vs. Largo, 7:30
Oct. 10at Northeast, 7:30
Oct. 17vs. Dixie Hollins, 7:30
Oct. 24vs. Palm Harbor University, 7:30
Oct. 31at Venice, 7:30
Mark your calendar
Seminole at Osceola Aug. 29: Seminole leads this neighborhood rivalry, winning 39 of 45 matchups — though recent history favors Osceola. The Warriors have taken four of the last five meetings and each of the previous three. With this matchup coming in Week 1, expect both teams to have some added energy.
Huddle highlights
Graduated ground game: The Warriors will be without arguably their most potent offensive force from a year ago. On a team that struggled at times through the air, Jamil Morris carried the offense on the ground, rushing for more than 1,100 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns. The Warriors will go to a backfield by committee to replace Morris’ offensive presence.
Senior leadership: Including Morris, the Warriors graduated 20 players from 2013’s team. But Palmer has 16 senior this year, and expect to see at least five of them starting on both sides of the ball.
A good test: The Warriors’ 54-14 loss to East Lake in the spring game wasn’t without its positives for Palmer. The defense allowed only two touchdowns; the offense didn’t turn the ball over and committed only a few penalties. For Palmer, even though his team isn’t ready to compete with teams of East Lake’s caliber, the practice against them is important.
Light line: Size on the offensive line will be an issue. Steven Thompson (215 pounds) is really the only beef up front. Keeping quarterback Ryan Allan on his feet and creating running lanes for a group of new running backs could be a challenge.
Known quantities
TE/LB Jamieson Craske, Sr.: Craske will likely captain the Warrior defense from his linebacker position. A year ago, his 87 tackles and three and a half sacks led the team. At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, Craske has the size to rush the quarterback and the agility to drop back into coverage and make plays.
RB/WR/DB Wilan Harvey, Sr.: Harvey will be one of the players expected to fill the void left by Jamil Morris. Wilan ran for 421 yards and averaged more than 10 yards per carry last season. He also proved valuable in the secondary, pulling in all five of the team’s interceptions.
DE Darian Hooker, Sr.: The 6-5, 200-pounder will be a presence on the edge this season. On an undersized team, the senior will need to rush the passer as well as help clog up running lanes.
RB/LB Bronson Lynch, Sr.: Lynch played well in the spring, rushing for a team-high 65 yards against East Lake. He will also be a valuable run stuffer on defense.
RB/DB Nick Shytle, Jr.: He likely will carry the bulk of the rushing load with Harvey. In the spring, he scored once on a 2-yard run against East Lake.
Up-and-comer
QB Ryan Allan, Jr.: In his second season with the varsity squad, Allan isn’t a newcomer, but on a team with 16 seniors, he will be one of the younger starters. And the Warriors need him to improve on his 15 completions for 266 yards and three touchdowns from a year ago.
Coach’s corner
“The teams we beat last year, all six of them, we believe are better than they were last year, so that’ll be a challenge for us. And then keeping the game in doubt against somebody like Largo or Venice will be hard, but if we can do that and somehow get into the fourth quarter, we’ll play hard and see what happens.” — Palmer