Wesley Chapel, Fla. — The Villages High School football team saw its season come to an end with a 55-14 loss Friday night to Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel.

The Buffalo committed four turnovers — surrendering 28 points off the miscues — en route to finishing the season with a 4-6 record overall.

"Tonight and all year long, our kids didn't quit," said VHS head coach Richard Pettus. "I'll take these kids all day long. They showed up every single day, undermanned most games playing what I feel is one of the toughest schedules in the state of Florida, and they never once let up or quit. That's what I'll remember about this team."

Things started well for the Buffalo in their bid to upset the Tampa-area powerhouse, as VHS went up 7-0 after a monstrous first series. The Buffalo kept possession for the opening 7:45 of the contest, with Jonathan Harding plowing his way in on the ground from a yard out on fourth down.

After Wiregrass (8-2) responded right back with a touchdown, a fumble on the ensuing Buffalo kickoff return resulted in another Bulls touchdown on the very next play.

A strip-sack fumble on Patrick Harding was returned more than 50 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead for Wiregrass, who took advantage of another VHS lost fumble on a kickoff moments later.

"We were right there early, had the long drive to start and punched it in, and then we just couldn't avoid the turnovers," Pettus said. "When it snowballs like that, it's really hard to stop it and dig yourself out of that hole — but you keep pushing forward, anyway."

The Bulls went up 28-7 on a rushing touchdown with 7:05 left in the second quarter, before VHS struck for a score as time expired in the first half. 

Patrick Harding allowed a trio of Buffalo receivers to work their way downfield on the final snap of the half, where he found his older brother Jonathan Harding on a deflected 43-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-14 at the break.

That'd be as close as The Villages would get, however, as Wiregrass Ranch quarterback — and Army commit — Luke Knight threw his second, third and fourth touchdown passes on the night in three straight possessions to open the second half.

An interception of Patrick Harding returned for a Bulls touchdown midway through the fourth quarter — the fourth Buffalo turnover of the night — resulted in the night's final margin. 

"I know our record doesn't reflect it, but we made a tremendous amount of improvement throughout the year," Pettus said. "We've got a lot of good things to build on from this year, and now we've just got to get our butts into the weight room and turn the page toward next year."


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org or by calling (352) 259-6890.