Zephyrhills Christian football (FL) pushing ahead with high aspirations

Transfer Parker Stirnkorb will lead the offense, throwing to one of the area's most talented receiving corps

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL – There are two high school football teams that reside out of the small town of Zephyrhills, Florida and both have had pretty talented programs the last few years.

At Zephyrhills Christian Academy, the Warriors have played varsity level football since 2015 and have yet to have a season in which they finished below the .500 mark in the win-loss column. ZCA has made five straight playoff appearances and is aiming for a sixth in 2022. The Warriors return one of the more talented teams out of Pasco County.

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The quarterback position last season was a bit like a game of a musical chairs between Jaycee Nixon and Adrian Miller, who started down the stretch due to an injury to the former. Nixon threw for 1,333 yards and 14 touchdowns, but he has since transferred over to Gaither and Miller has graduated.

Enter Dunedin transfer Parker Stirnkorb, who started all 10 games for the Falcons in 2021. Stirnkorb comes over to the Warriors as a senior and he threw for 2,026 yards and 21 touchdowns last year for Duendin. He will have a talented group of receivers to throw to, as the Warriors are returning Hezekiah Langley (14 catches, 337 yards), Quavious Cook (22 catches, 382 yards) and EJ Allen (21 catches, 377 yards). Throw in wide receiver Jayden Ramos to the mix and the Warriors have one of the top receiving corps in the county.

The backfield ends up taking a hit with the graduation of running back Dontrevius Jackson, who rushed for 1,803 yards last year. Enter senior Antonio Hunt seeing a lot more touches. Hunt rushed for 126 yards on 13 attempts and should be one of ZCA’s top rushers along with do-everything Caleb Gaskin as another rushing option.

Defensively the team took a blow with graduation of like Donnie Lloyd, who had 39 tackles and five sacks last season. The defense, however, brings back a slew of other returners who will flip over from offense to play both ways. Cook (38 tackles), Hunt (54 tackles) and Langley (33 tackles) are all players expected to be difference makers on defense this summer/fall.

The Warriors will be playing out of a very talented Class 1A-Suburban, District 5 with the likes of Lakeland Christian, Victory Christian and a rebuilding Bishop McLaughlin team. The two Polk County teams are the biggest threats to keeping ZCA from winning a district championship as both clubs also made the playoffs in 2021. It will be one of the more entertaining districts in 1A-Suburban and the Warriors should be a district contender.

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.