Middleton, Fla. — A new era is upon The Villages High School football program.

The Buffalo will open The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium for the very first time at 7:30 p.m. Friday night, when visiting Zephyrhills (0-1) and VHS (0-1) square off in the inaugural game on the new gridiron at Middleton.

A refocused Buffalo squad enters its home debut looking to move past a 55-6 loss in the season opener last week at South Sumter, while also looking to entertain what's anticipated to be an enthusiastic crowd at the new 6,000-seat venue.

"We know it's going to be packed and maybe — hopefully — even sold out," said Buffalo head coach Richard Pettus. "I've told the team, 'We've got to do it for us first, but we also have to do it for our fans and our community.' Their support and our administration's support to afford us a beautiful facility such as this, we owe it to them and ourselves to keep working hard and give ourselves the best chance to win on Friday night."

That hard work picked up in earnest with a pair of practices on Monday and Tuesday, before the Buffalo shelved Wednesday's practice because of Hurricane Idalia's passing through the state. VHS got back out onto the practice field Thursday afternoon ahead of a special home debut Friday night.

The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium is currently configured to host 6,000 fans, while boasting the capability to expand to 10,000 seats. A five-story, concrete tilt-wall constructed home grandstand includes premium seating options, locker rooms, team meeting rooms, a reception area, an athletic training room, a weight room, office space and six press box suites.

Along with the latest FieldTurf technology on its playing surface, The Range also features a 40-foot-by-24-foot Watchfire videoboard, Community LVH-906WR/APB speakers and a fully-integrated audio-visual production suite in its gameday operations wing.

The Villages will take its new field looking to rebound in all three phases following last week's disappointing opener, as the Buffalo suffered their worst loss to open a season since 2006. VHS will also seek to avenge a 32-15 defeat last September at Zephyrhills. The Bulldogs are coming off a 29-7 loss to defending state champion Lake Wales last Friday night.

"As long as our effort stays where it's been, we've got a chance ... we really do," Pettus said. "I'm excited and we're looking forward to a fun Friday night, for sure."


THE MATCHUP
The Villages Buffalo
Record: 0-1
Class 2S Rank (MaxPreps): 44
Head Coach: Richard Pettus, 21st year
Zephyrhills Bulldogs
Record: 0-1
Class 3S Rank (MaxPreps): 13
Head Coach: Nick Carroll, 8th year

THE SCENE
Date: Friday, Sept. 1
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Location: The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium, The Villages High School, Middleton (Fla.)
Surface: FieldTurf
Series: Zephyrhills leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Zephyrhills 32, The Villages 15 (Sept. 2, 2022)
Twitter: @VHSFootballFBT
Website: athletics.tvcs.org
Tickets: Available in advance at https://www.thevillagesentertainment.com/buy-tickets/athletics/ or at the gate ($8 per person) on game day.

FOUR DOWNS
1. Put It In Drive: The Villages will look to get something going offensively Friday night against Zephyrhills, after sputtering ahead for just 109 yards of offense and six points in last week's season opener. Excluding a 60-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Patrick Harding to senior Cliff Bridges in the first quarter last Friday night, the Buffalo were held to just 49 yards on 41 plays from scrimmage.
2. Put It In Park: The Buffalo defense will also look to put forth a better effort after the unit allowed 450 yards of offense to South Sumter one week ago. VHS surrendered touchdowns on the first seven possessions in the season opener.
3. A Solid Start: Senior receiver Cliff Bridges set career-high marks in both receptions (4) and receiving yards (70) in last week's season-opening defeat, while also hauling in his first career touchdown.
4. Keeping It Clean: A positive coming out of last week's season-opening loss was the discipline shown by the Buffalo, as they committed just one accepted penalty for five yards.

FROM THE HEADSET
"We know we're going to have our work cut out for us. Zephyrhills is a lot like (South Sumter) in a lot of ways. They're quick on the edges and they've got some size up front. They're going to spread us out on offense and play a 3-4 on defense. We know it's going to take a really strong effort to give ourselves a chance." — VHS head coach Richard Pettus


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