A packed house at Tom Fisher Field at Bulldog Stadium saw the Zephyrhills Bulldogs put on another dominant performance Friday night, rolling past rival Wesley Chapel 42–3 in their home opener.
The win marked the second straight week Zephyrhills (2–0) has topped the 40-point mark and forced a running clock in the second half.
The Bulldogs wasted no time seizing momentum. On Wesley Chapel’s opening possession, a botched punt snap was scooped up by Saniyiin Black, who lateraled to Deori Pope. Pope sprinted 28 yards for a touchdown, giving Zephyrhills a 7–0 lead with 7:16 left in the first quarter.
Just minutes later, Roe Miller broke loose for an electrifying 82-yard touchdown run, and the Bulldogs were off and running at 14–0.
Special teams continued to fuel the fireworks. Ethan Stone blocked his first punt of the game and recovered it in the end zone for a score. Though the PAT missed, Zephyrhills led 20–0. On the next Wesley Chapel punt attempt, Stone got through again — this time forcing a safety when Zac Carroll tackled the punter in the end zone for a 22–0 lead.
Quarterback Patrick Harding then went to work. He connected with Pope for a touchdown pass before improvising on a scramble late in the half. Harding launched a pass toward the end zone, where the ball was tipped at the 2-yard line by Miller and caught by Black for another score. With the extra point, the Bulldogs extended the lead to 35–0.
Harding capped the first-half explosion with a 14-yard dump-off pass to Kingston McCullough, who weaved past defenders into the end zone with 8:15 left in the second quarter. That made it 42–0 at halftime.
Despite the rout, head coach Nick Carroll emphasized that his Bulldogs have room to improve heading into next week’s matchup with Wiregrass Ranch.
“We haven’t played a complete game yet,” Carroll said. “We need to work on special teams with kickoffs, and I noticed we have to move our feet more on the offensive line. We have to be able to move the ball consistently, not just with big plays.”