St. Cloud, Fla. – The Villages High School football team lit up the scoreboard in its runaway Fall Classic victory Friday night in St. Cloud.
The Buffalo powered their way to a 41-14 win behind junior quarterback Jadence Kennedy, who completed 9-of-12 passes for 304 yards and five touchdowns in the preseason exhibition.
VHS jumped out to a 34-0 lead at halftime, scoring on five of its six first-half possessions in a dress rehearsal before the season opener next Friday against rival Wildwood.
"Very pleased," Buffalo head coach Richard Pettus said after the win. "We've got to get on the film and clean up the stuff that we made mistakes on, but we'll dissect it all."
The Buffalo needed just five plays to find the end zone on their first possession, as Kennedy hurled a pass over a defender and into the arms of Ja'Marian Clark. The receiver then spun around a second defender and sprinted toward the pylon for an opening 7-0 lead.
Kennedy and Clark connected again late in the first quarter – this time for a 34-yard score – to give the Buffalo a 14-0 advantage after one period of play.
VHS added three more touchdowns in the second quarter, gaining extra possessions by way of a pair of Harmony turnovers.
The scores came from the right hand of Kennedy to three different receivers, as Omari Hill (33 yards), Antwon Johnson (42 yards) and Clark (43 yards) all hauled in touchdown passes.
"I told (Kennedy) before the game how proud I was because he's grown up a lot," Pettus said of his quarterback. "He's always been a great student of the game, but his leadership and what he's done through the summer and fall camp. We'll go as far as he takes us. He's such a competitor and he's a winner."
The Villages tallied 310 yards of offense in the first half, with Kennedy throwing for 259 yards through the first two quarters. The quarterback threw six touchdowns in eight games played last season, in which he shared the starting position.
"It feels really good and rewarding," Kennedy said. "Everyone just kept telling me that when I get my opportunity to lead this team that I have to shine, and that's what I tried to do."
The Longhorns cut into the deficit with a pair of touchdowns without their offense on the field, as Harmony took advantage of an interception return for a score and a blocked punt recovery in the end zone.
After a power outage delayed the preseason tilt by more than 20 minutes, the Buffalo regrouped for an insurance score when Maguire Mellinger rumbled into the end zone from 23 yards out for the night's final margin.
Cole Logan led the way on the ground for VHS with 72 yards on nine carries – Mellinger finished with 71 rushing yards – while Clark led all receivers with 133 yards. Hill had 111 yards on four catches.
The Buffalo defense forced five turnovers – and three more times turned the Longhorns over on downs – while holding Harmony to just 151 yards of total offense.
"I thought they played extremely well," Pettus said of his defense. "They need help. We need some more guys stepping up. ... But overall, I thought we played really well as a defensive unit."
Up next, the Buffalo turn their attention to the 2025 season opener at home Friday night against Wildwood in Middleton.
"I think we all feel like we're just getting started," Kennedy said. "We've got a couple guys ready for next week and we know we can be even better."
(A power outage with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter delayed the game by more than 20 minutes – Cody Hills/VHS Athletics)
Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org.
