Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School football team didn't get the ending it wanted for the beginning of its new home, as the Buffalo fell 27-0 to Zephyrhills on Friday night in the first-ever game from The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium.

Despite a valiant effort against the visiting Pasco County powerhouse, VHS (0-2) struggled to execute offensively throughout the home opener, while the Bulldogs (1-1) took advantage of several big plays — including a pair of defensive scores — to give the Buffalo their second loss in as many games this season.

"When you don't win, you're going to disappointed," said VHS head coach Richard Pettus, now in his 21st season leading the Buffalo. "But these kids battled so hard and I couldn't be more proud of them. They busted their butts and it felt like with just our effort, we should've been in a better position to win the football game."

A fumble on the first play from scrimmage stunned a hearty inaugural crowd at The Range, who braved a battering round of thunderstorms just an hour prior to kickoff. The Buffalo defense stood up and turned Zephyrhills over on downs to put out the fire, only to see the VHS offense get stonewalled on the other end of the field.

The Buffalo drove 70 yards on eight plays — highlighted by a 65-yard pass from sophomore Patrick Harding to senior Cliff Bridges — before being stuffed on four consecutive run plays inside the 7-yard line to leave the game scoreless midway through the first quarter.

"If we punch that in, we've got ourselves a whole different ballgame just in terms of our confidence," Pettus said. "We're starting to find our strengths and weaknesses, though, and we've got to really start focusing on those weaknesses and get to working on them."

Zephyrhills went up 14-0 on a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter, scoring first on a 2-yard quarterback keeper by Brendyn Colella, before the gunslinger fired a 59-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jared Cason with 3:50 remaining in the first half.

The Bulldogs extended their lead to 21-0 coming out of halftime, when Zephyrhills defensive lineman Samaryn Black stepped in front of a Harding screen pass and rumbled 67 yards into the end zone for the score midway through the third quarter.

That set the stage for the nation's No. 1 ranked safety in the Class of 2025, as Zephyrhills junior DJ Pickett took advantage of a fluttering pass and returned it 86 yards for the night's final margin. Harding, who was hit as he released the errant throw, left the game following the play with an upper-body injury and did not return.

VHS entertains its open week next before returning to action at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15 at Citrus in Inverness.


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