In the first meeting between the Horace O’Bryant and Key Largo School football teams, the rivalry has been established, as despite coming in on opposite sides of the Tri-County Conference standings, the Tornados, still searching for a first win in their second season of existence, did not just roll over for the defending champion and still undefeated Buccaneers on Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Key West High Back Yard.
Instead, Key Largo battled with HOB, trailing by one score at halftime, after the Bucs had two first-half touchdowns called back as well as one in the second half, and the Tornados were the first squad to punch the ball into the red zone at the start of the second quarter, but the Buccaneers gained their footing during their home finale to claim a 24-0 victory to bring the unbeaten streak to 14 games dating back to the 2022 campaign.
Twice on the opening drive of the contest did HOB have touchdowns called back, leading to a turnover on downs and Key Largo’s best starting position of the game. The Tornados nearly took advantage, driving the ball to the 12-yard line before turning over the possession on downs. It would still take the Bucs the remainder of the first half to find pay dirt, when Kacper Kowalik, who had 62 rushing yards in the game on 11 carriers, went in for a touchdown and then added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 advantage at halftime…