Zephyrhills showed no signs of slowing down Friday night, rolling past Gulf 46-15 at Tom Fisher Field to remain undefeated and improve to 5-0 on the season. The victory sets up a much-anticipated Homecoming showdown next week against rival Pasco.
Quarterback Patrick Harding continued his stellar season, accounting for four touchdowns. He rushed for three scores, including a one-yard and an 11-yard run in the first half before capping his night with a third rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Harding also connected with Deori Pope on a 56-yard touchdown strike, pushing the Bulldogs to a commanding 34-7 lead at halftime.
The ground game set the tone early, as Roe Miller and Graylon Johnson each found the end zone in the second quarter to help Zephyrhills grab a 14-7 lead. Miller finished with two touchdowns, while Pope and Johnson added one apiece.
Defensively, Zephyrhills was just as dominant, forcing three turnovers and stifling the Gulf offense throughout the night. Linebacker Khyrii Everett registered two sacks, while Zac Carroll blew up the Bucs’ running game. In the secondary, Kingston McCullough and Sanyiin Black locked down the Gulf receivers to keep the pressure on.
Head coach Nick Carroll praised his team’s effort but knows the season is only halfway finished.
“I have to look at it,” Carroll said. “I mean, it was okay. I’m glad we won. Anytime you can be 5-0, that is a good thing. Just that we got to do some stuff better, but we got to clean it up.”
Still, Carroll acknowledged the atmosphere was special on a night when the Junior Bulldogs cheerleaders joined the varsity squad to fire up the crowd.
“I’m proud we got the win in front of our fans and all the young cheerleaders got to come out for the game,” Carroll said. “Yeah, that was pretty fun. From the community and all that stuff. This was a Zephyrhills kind of night. Now we get to play Pasco, baby.”
With the Bulldogs riding high at 5-0, all eyes now turn to Homecoming week and the long-standing rivalry with Pasco.
