Bulldog Stadium was the site of several big events Friday night, but none was bigger than the 48-0 Zephyrhills win over visiting Weeki Wachee.
The Bulldogs cruised to the win and 5-0 record with their second shutout of the season. At this point, Zephyrhills has outscored opponents 183-23 in five games. Friday’s win was the third game of the season shortened by a running clock.
The string of lower level Pasco County teams ends temporarily this week as the Bulldogs will host the Class 7A Bulls of Wiregrass Ranch, who improved to 3-1 on the season outscoring opponents 150-48.
It looks to be the county’s top offense (Wiregrass) in facing the county top defense (Zephyrhills) Friday night at Bulldog Stadium. “We started slow offensively and we can’t start slow,” said Head Coach Nick Carroll. “It’s not what we wanted and it’s not what we strive for. We can’t do that next week. We have some things to work on. Next week is a big game for us. We have to prepare. We have to have a great week of practice.”
In the matchup against Weeki Wachee, Bulldog running back Jaylin Thomas put Zephyrhills on the board on its second possession of the game with a 61-yard run where he just made the Hornets defense look like a middle school squad as he zigzagged to the end zone.
After the Bulldogs recovered a muffed punt return, senior quarterback Jaxson Rivera hit sophomore receiver Jakobe Campbell with a 23-yard touchdown pass with 10:51 left in the second quarter. It didn’t take much time as the Bulldogs scored again with 7:57 left in the half when TJ Jackson dashed 19 yards to pay dirt. Rivera’s kick was good and the Bulldogs’ lead was 21-0.
Willy Queen joined the scoring parade with a 55-yard touchdown run through the defense and a five-yard scoring run to help give the Bulldogs a 35-0 lead at halftime.
First play of the second half showed the Bulldogs were keeping their foot on the gas as Rivera hit Jackson with a 61-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 42-0.
The Bulldogs defense put points on the board for the fifth consecutive game with fumble recovery return for a touchdown.
“A win like this helps and hurts us going into Wiregrass,” said Thomas. “We didn’t have a team to play at our level, but we had to come in here and win. We should be ready for Wiregrass. We have to work hard and have good practices. It feels good to be 5-0.
“It will feel better when we’re 6-0.”