Just three weeks ago, Zephyrhills couldn’t hold the lead against Springstead and lost 16-13. Friday night, the Bulldogs learned their lesson and held on to the lead late in the game to come away with a 22-17 win over Land O’ Lakes.
Kingston McCullough’s interception in the closing seconds inside the five-yard line sealed the deal against the Gators and improved the Bulldogs to 2-2 on the season.
“That’s big of our team overcoming adversity,” said a happy Zephyrhills head coach Nick Carroll. “They played for one another and found a way to win. Springstead did the same thing to us, and we didn’t seal the deal. It’s nice to see that they didn’t panic.”
Aside from the stout defense, Roe Miller’s play on offense and special teams was the highlight of the night. The junior running back scored on a 15-yard catch and run and a 92-yard kickoff return.
Land O’ Lakes jumped onto the scoreboard first with a 31-yard field goal, but Miller answered on the ensuing kickoff dashing down the center of the field for 92 yards and a TD. A pass from Xzavier Jackson to Saniiyn Black added the two-point conversion giving the Bulldogs an 8-3 advantage and they would never trail again.
AJ Jackson extended the lead with a five-yard touchdown pass from Xzavier Jackson. The two-point conversion failed this time and Zephyrhills lead 14-3. The Gators later answered with a long touchdown run to make it close at 14-10. Miller added his 15-yard TD to stretch the lead to 22-10.
With just over 10 minutes left in the game, the Gators closed the gap at 22-17, but it wasn’t until the final drive of the game that the Gators were moving the ball with a sense of urgency.
Land O’ Lakes moved the ball in the final four minutes driving inside the 10. With 11 seconds left on fourth down, McCullough’s heroics paid off to stave off the threat.
The Bulldogs were without four starters including five-star standout DJ Pickett, running back and linebacker Tristan Lennon, Ahman Howard, and Kiah’ezeh Russell.
The kids who played made some strides in the right direction. I’m really proud of them. When one man is down, it’s the next man up. They showed and mentality to take over.”
The Bulldogs return to action Friday on the road against Gulf. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.