Dennis Murray, stifling defense lead Mainland past Osceola 22-0
DAYTONA BEACH — Quarterback Dennis Murray Jr. threw a touchdown on Mainland's first offensive play of the game and also rushed for a touchdown as the Buccaneers shut out Osceola 22-0 on Thursday night at Daytona Stadium.
It is the third consecutive shutout and fifth overall for the Buccaneers' defense. The last team to score against Mainland was Lake Minneola on Sept. 22.
Murray connected with Ezaiah Shine for a 45-yard scoring strike to give Mainland a quick 7-0 lead. He bookended the half with an 80-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds left in the second quarter to extend the lead to 13-0.
"DJ Murray is amazing," Mainland coach Travis Roland said. "He's been down on himself because his passing stats haven't looked the way he wanted them to look, but i think people saw how explosive he is with both. He threw some great balls, He makes great decisions and he trusts himself a lot, which is why he pulled it on of the zone reads. I think he's one of the most explosive players in the state and he showed it."
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Jacob Gettman kicked a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter and running back Khamani Robinson capped the scoring with a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Mainland, the top-ranked team in Class 3S, improves to 8-0 while Oscoela, a Class 4S state semifinalist in 2022, falls to 2-6.
Here are some takeaways from Thursday's game:
Mainland's defense was dominant
The Buccaneers knew that the key to beating Osceola was stopping junior running back Taevion Swint and they were able to keep him from breaking off a big run.
Linebackers Rodney Hill and Dennis King and edge rusher LJ McCray all made multiple stops in the backfield. The two times Osceola was able to drive deep into Mainland territory were after Buccaneers mistakes — multiple penalties that gave the Kowboys first downs on a drive in the second quarter and a muffed punt late in the fourth quarter.
Other than the self-inflicted wounds, this was a dominant effort.
Mainland looks ready for the District 9-3S championship
Playing a physical team like Osceola the week before rival Seabreeze is a bit of a gamble, but the Buccaneers appeared to get through it with their health intact and are headed toward a showdown with their rival for the district title.
Considering the way the defense played, and with the offense putting up points in every quarter Thursday, the Buccaneers should feel good about where they stand. Minutes after the Osceola game, Roland said he was very excited for rivalry week.
Mainland has been determined to get back to the state championship game this season and winning the district title would go a long way to accomplishing that goal.
Taevion Swint is looking like his old self
Osceola's dynamic junior running back missed the first three weeks of the season because of a knee injury, but he continues to look more and more like the player who is considered to be one of the nation's premier backs in the class of 2025.
Swint, a UCF commit, was able to showcase his speed on a few first half carries when he was able to get to the edge and also had a couple power runs up the middle where he drove a pile of Mainland defenders backward.
Osceola can qualify for the postseason with a win against Tohopekaliga next week and a Swint-led Kowboys team can definitely make noise in Region 3-4S.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school football: Mainland shuts out Osceola to move to 8-0
