Bushnell, Fla. — The Villages High School football team struggled in all three phases of its season opener Friday night en route to a 55-6 road loss at Inman Sherman Field in Bushnell.

The Buffalo mustered just 109 yards of total offense, surrendered touchdowns on the first seven Raider possessions and decisively lost the special teams battle, as they were saddled with their worst loss to South Sumter in the seven-meeting history between the two county foes.

"Sometimes, you're going to have these types of games," said VHS head coach Richard Pettus. "They're not fun for anyone and I know our kids are hurting, but I was really proud of their effort. We knew we were in for a fight, but our kids didn't give up all night long."

VHS (0-1) allowed South Sumter (1-0) to rack up 450 yards of offense — averaging 8.49 yards per play — with the Buffalo themselves only averaged 2.59 yards per snap.

The Villages went three-and-out on its first three possessions of the night, while the Raiders scored three touchdowns in the opening seven minutes to jump out to a 21-0 lead. Two of the South Sumter scores were set up by VHS punts of five and 15 yards, respectively, giving the Raiders advantageous field position to begin with.

The Buffalo finally got on the board with 3:21 remaining in the first quarter, when sophomore quarterback Patrick Harding fired over the middle toward senior Cliff Bridges. The pass was deflected through the hands of South Sumter defensive back Ja'kyrian Turner, before Bridges collected the fluttering ball and sprinted ahead 60 yards to cut the deficit to 21-6.

After South Sumter responded with a methodical 10-play scoring drive to make it 28-6, the Buffalo special teams unit fumbled away the ensuing kickoff return. The Raiders capitalized with a touchdown — and then pounced on yet another VHS kickoff return fumble — to ultimately take a 35-6 lead through a quarter of play.

VHS looked up at a 49-6 deficit at halftime and opened the third quarter with a quick three-and-out, while South Sumter added its fifth touchdown of 20 yards or more on the night for the contest's final margin.

"There's lessons learned for us, for sure," said Buffalo senior running back and linebacker Maleek Williams. "It's tough to keep your head up in games like these, but that's a part of football. Things aren't always going to go your way, and you've got to find a way to focus on the next play and keep fighting."

Harding finished 9-of-19 passing for 83 yards, an interception and the touchdown to Bridges, who hauled in a team-high four passes for 70 yards. Williams finished as the leading rusher for VHS, logging 16 yards on seven carries.

As a team, the Buffalo were held to 25 yards rushing on 23 attempts. South Sumter, who entered the contest ranked No. 3 in Class 2S, ran for 306 yards on 39 carries.

The Villages will now look ahead to its home opener and debut of The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium, as the Buffalo host Zephyrhills (0-1) at 7:30 p.m. next Friday night on the new Middleton campus.

"If you look back at our history, we've seen how playing tough teams early in the year can benefit us later on down the road," Pettus said. "(South Sumter) is obviously a good football team over there. But now we've got to do what we can as coaches to put our kids in the best position to win on Friday nights."


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


GAME NOTES
The 55 points allowed and the 49-point margin of defeat are both the largest for VHS in a season opener since a 73-7 loss to Trinity Catholic (Ocala) in 2006. ... VHS fell victim to the Raiders for the second consecutive season opener, following South Sumter's 42-0 win last August in The Villages. ... South Sumter tallied 12 different ballcarriers in Friday night's victory, with junior Travion Overton rushing for a team-high 94 yards on six carries. ... Prior to kickoff, the Buffalo announced senior TE/LB Danny Bitting will miss the entire 2023 season due to a knee injury. ... The Buffalo invite all former and retired football coaches to their home opener next Friday night against Zephyrhills. Coaches are asked to call 352-259-3777 to attend the game, free of charge, for both themselves and a guest.


GAME SUMMARY
South Sumter 55, The Villages 6
First Quarter
SS: Ja'kyrian Turner 26-yard pass from Will Ammons (Bryan Hernandez kick), 9:20
SS: Tyrese Keiler 54-yard run (Hernandez kick), 7:42
SS: Malakhi Boone 10-yard run (Hernandez kick), 3:26
VHS: Cliff Bridges 60-yard pass from Patrick Harding (kick blocked), 3:10
SS: Keiler 10-yard run (Hernandez kick), :25
SS: George Mullins 29-yard pass from Taylor Keiler (Hernandez kick), :10
Second Quarter
SS: Turner 28-yard run (Hernandez kick), 10:49
SS: Bubba Boone 10-yard run (Hernandez kick), 5:20
Third Quarter
SS: Travion Overton 42-yard run (kick missed), 3:25
Fourth Quarter
No scoring


GAME STATS
Total Offense: The Villages—109. South Sumter—450.
First Downs: The Villages—7. South Sumter—10.
Third Downs: The Villages—2-12. South Sumter—9-13.
Fourth Downs: The Villages—1-4. South Sumter—2-2.
Turnovers: The Villages—3. South Sumter—2.
Penalties: The Villages—1-5. South Sumter—11-104.


INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing: The Villages—Patrick Harding 9-19-83-1-1, Milow Patterson 1-1-(-1)-0-0. South Sumter—Will Ammons 4-7-72-1-0, Taylor Keiler 4-6-68-1-0, Landon Sherman 1-1-4-0-0.
Rushing: The Villages—Maleek Williams 7-16, DeShawn Bellamy 4-12, Patrick Harding 3-(-19), Cole Logan 4-14, Ethan Harrison 4-8, Milow Patterson 1-(-6). South Sumter—Stanley Young 3-29, Colby Rinberger 3-10, Tyrese Keiler 3-64, Jay Strawder 4-20, Malakhi Boone 4-17, Ja'kyrian Turner 2-39, Taylor Keiler 1-6, Tayshaun Young 7-39, Travion Overton 6-94, Will Ammons 1-3, Bubba Boone 2-17, Landon Sherman 3-(-29).
Receiving: The Villages—Cliff Bridges 4-70, Jonathan Harding 2-1, Maleek Williams 1-5, Josh Gepega 2-9, Brady Hunt 1-(-1). South Sumter—Ja'kyrian Turner 1-26, Jose Armas 1-23, Malakhi Boone 2-27, George Mullins 1-29, Javion Trinidad 1-12, Jay Strawder 1-9, Stanley Young 2-18.