The Zephyrhills Bulldogs showed no signs of slowing down Friday night, overwhelming the Land O’ Lakes Gators with a 39-7 victory on the road.
Running back Roe Miller led the charge with three touchdowns, including a one-yard plunge early in the second quarter to open the scoring. After a defensive stop, quarterback Patrick Harding found Deori Pope on fourth-and-goal from the Gators’ 23. Pope shook off defenders and raced into the end zone to extend the lead to 14-0.
Harding later connected with Jarvis Warren on a 59-yard strike before Miller capped the first half with a 24-yard touchdown run following an interception by Kingston McCullough. Zephyrhills went into halftime comfortably ahead, 26-0.
The offensive onslaught continued in the third quarter. Miller powered across the goal line for his third score of the night, and Harding lofted a 39-yard touchdown pass to McCullough to push the Bulldogs’ lead to 39-0 entering the final period.
With the game well in hand, head coach Nick Carroll emptied his bench in the fourth quarter. The Gators managed to avoid the shutout with a late touchdown, but the Bulldogs sealed their fourth win of the season decided by the running-clock mercy rule.
“We started slow, but then we started moving,” Carroll said. “We made a few different adjustments based on what they were giving us.”
Carroll praised Miller’s breakout performance. “He’s pretty good. He shoots out of the pile like a cannon. You know there are playmakers that make plays, so it’s good to see these kids have success.”
Coming off an emotional 19-13 rivalry win over Wiregrass Ranch last week, Carroll admitted he was concerned about a potential letdown.
“Yeah, I was worried about it,” Carroll said. “You get complacent sometimes. Two years ago when we came here, we were in a dog fight, and we didn’t want it to happen this time.”
With the victory, Zephyrhills improves to 4-0 on the season and continues to look like a force in the region.