5 takeaways from Zephyrhills' victory over Land O' Lakes

The Bulldogs minus 2025 5-star DJ Pickett, get it done against the feisty Gators

Dave Walters

The Zephyrhills Bulldogs have had an interesting season so far and it got a little more peculiar on Friday night against Land O' Lakes.

Taking the field without arguably a couple of Pasco County's biggest stars, the Bulldogs were able to pull off an exciting 22-17 victory over the Gators.

The Bulldogs notched win No. 2 on the season, bouncing back from a 28-14 loss to Wiregrass Ranch last week.

We give you five takeaways from the entertaining contest between the two Pasco County programs:

Zephyrhills gets it done without stars

No DJ Pickett (LSU commitment). No Tristan Lennon (Charleston Southern commitment). No problem for the Bulldogs. A myriad of other players stepped up in place of Pickett and Lennon, with players like Xzavier Jackson, AJ Jackson, Roe Miller and Kingston McCullough. The Bulldogs have always been touted for the talent they have year in and year out and they showed depth at the skill position across the board without their stars.

Land O' Lakes' Chance Houston is going to be a good one

Playing at a school that's had a long line of talented quarterbacks proceeding him, Chance Houston has a shot to becoming the next passer that could start as many as three years. Houston did only throw for 94 yards and had a couple picks, but the young passer displayed bright spots against one of the county's secondaries. We're not saying Houston is the next Drew Weatherford, but he could be a quarterback that becomes the county's best by his senior season.

TJ Morrow shows he's one of Pasco County's best backs

In a county loaded with talent in the backfield, a running back like TJ Morrow has somehow gotten lost in the mix. Not no more, however. The hard-nosed running back tested his mettle against a talented Zephyrhills' defense and rushed for 166 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns. Land O' Lakes' head coach Dan Goodspeed has always looked to be balanced offensively and having a back like Morrow gives the Gators a bellcow to hand the ball off to every series on offense.

Why was DJ Pickett and Tristan Lennon out?

Many asking the million-dollar question of why Pickett and Lennon were out to begin with, well, we have few answers to this point. According to Zephyrhills Free Press' Dave Walters, Lennon was out due to an FHSAA mandated suspension stemming from the Wiregrass Ranch game. Pickett on the other hand is more unknown. Could the Bulldogs be without Pickett for longer than one game? If so, that doesn't bode well for Nick Carroll and crew.

Can Bulldogs sustain level of play versus Gulf?

Seeing how Carroll's team played was a different style compared to how they've been used to, without a couple of aforementioned stars. Jackson will be leaned upon to do more and more through the air, after a 13-of-27, 109-yard, 2-touchdown performance. Having players like Johnson (39 yards rushing), Jackson (five catches, 69 yards), Miller (two touchdowns) and McCullough (two interceptions) all step up was needed and now the Bulldogs will need to gear up to stop a run-heavy Gulf club, who resembles in ways Springstead. The Eagles defeated the Bulldogs 16-13 in Week 1.

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