A pair of defensive touchdowns, two TDs from running back Jaylin Thomas and a pass hook up form Jaxson Rivera to TJ Jackson was plenty to give Zephyrhills a 34-9 win over Wesley Chapel.
The win moves the Bulldogs to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in district play.
The Bulldog defense, which has scored in each of the the Bulldogs four wins, played strong with Nick Sheldon stripping the ball from Wildcat running back Jaylan Blake and dashed 70 yards for a touchdown.
“Our defense is opportunistic,” said ZHS head coach Nick Carroll. “It helps obviously when we score touchdowns on defense, so we don’t have to score much on offense. Hats off to our defensive coaches. They do a great job and the kids love them and trust them.”
Tymar KcKever’s interception return of 56 yards in the fourth quarter wrapped up the scoring and gave the defense something else to celebrate. Cornerback Jakobe Campbell and defensive lineman Kamil Mehrab each had interceptions.
“It feels good to be a lineman with an interception,” said Mehrab, who was playing with a broken thumb. “This Bulldog defense, none of us is happy with that nine points on the board. We come in to each game expecting a shutout. If they don’t score, they wont win.”
Thomas was the anchor of the offense finishing with game-high 158 yards on 13 carries.”
We started slow in the first half and I think we were overthinking things out there,” Thomas said. “We hyped it too much and then we calmed down and showed them how it is.”
The only low point for the Bulldogs were the 14 penalties for 145 yards.
Zephyrhills have a bye week next week and return to action Oct. 1 at home against Weeki Wachee.