The Zephyrhills defense pitched a shutout and the offense scored seven times as the Bulldogs routed Lakeland Kathleen 48-0.
“Our goal was to win it. We had to win it because of seeding,” said Zephyrhills Coach Nick Carroll. “It’s important we won the game. We played pretty sound on defense, scored some points and a lot kids got to touch the ball and make some plays.”
With Tristan Lennon at the helm filling in for the injured Brendyn Colella, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the opening quarter thanks to rushing touchdowns from Rodney Smith and Tristan Lennon and a receiving touchdown by Ben Raines.
The second quarter saw DJ Pickett catch a TD strike from Lennon and Smith hitting pay dirt again to give the Bulldogs a 35-0 lead at the intermission.
With a running clock in the second half, the Bulldogs added rushing touchdowns from Fred Adams and Tayshaun Jamison to bring the score to 48-0.
The Bulldog defense forced four turnovers with three interceptions and a fumble recovery. This was the second shutout for Zephyrhills.
The with two games remaining in the regular season, Zephyrhills looks to next week for a homecoming game against Cypress Creek a win secures the district title and locks in the Bulldogs for the playoffs.
“Every game prepares us for Cypress Creek,” Carroll said. “Cypress Creek is a good football team. That’s the reason they won seven games. It’s huge. With a loss, we either fall out of the seedings or we’re one of the last seeds.”