The Dunnellon Tigers will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Zephyrhills Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Florida (Dunnellon is ranked 121st, while Zephyrhills is ranked 117th).
After a string of five wins, Dunnellon's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They and South Sumter were almost perfectly matched up, but Dunnellon suffered an agonizing 13-12 defeat. The low total for Dunnellon limited their streak of high-flying scores to five in a row.
Despite the loss, Dunnellon had strong showings from Dylan Donahoe, who rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown, and Chris Henry, who rushed for 82 yards on only nine carries.
Meanwhile, Zephyrhills stacked a fourth blowout onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They breezed by Cypress Creek on the road to the tune of 63-35. This was one game where the offenses had no trouble playing at a high level.
Tristan Lennon had a dynamite game for Zephyrhills, rushing for 226 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries. Lennon really tore up the turf during one magnificent 90-yard run. The team also got some help courtesy of Rodney Smith, who rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries.
South Sumter's win bumped their season record to 9-1 while Dunnellon's loss dropped theirs to 6-3.
Dunnellon might still be hurting after the 41-21 loss they got from Zephyrhills when the teams last played back in November of 2022. Will Dunnellon have more luck at home instead of on the road?
