Coaches are used to giving stock answers to common questions. Take things one game at a time. Play hard for 60 minutes. And, even if they’re facing a rival, it’s just another game.
Zephyrhills head coach Reggie Roberts isn’t toeing that line when it comes to the annual Pasco-Zephyrhills football matchup.
(Fred Bellet/Photos)
“It’s not just another game. It’s the Nine-Mile War,” Roberts said, referring to the distance between the two schools.
“This is a rivalry game,” he said.
It’s also a game that has hurt Zephyrhills in seasons past. Three of the past four years, a loss to the Pirates cost the Bulldogs a playoff spot. Last season, the game didn’t impact the team’s ability to make the playoffs, and it reached the postseason for the first time under Roberts’ tenure. But, the Bulldogs still lost to Pasco.
For this season’s game, there is no playoff spot on the line. At 7-2, Zephyrhills is already playoff-bound. And at 4-5, Pasco won’t be in the postseason. But the game still means something, and Roberts has nothing but respect for Pasco.
“They’ve played some good football,” Roberts said, noting that the Pirates have faced a tough schedule. He also singled out their talented quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., as a player Zephyrhills needs to contain in order to be successful.
“We’re not going to sleep on them, thinking that they’re a .500 team. We know better than that. We know that they’ll be ready to play, and that we’re going to have to play our game,” he said.
Pasco has played their game each of Roberts’ five previous seasons as head coach at Zephyrhills. The Bulldogs are 0-5 against the Pirates during his tenure. It’s a far cry from the success he had as a student at Zephyrhills: He never lost to Pasco as a player.
Roberts remembers the energy and excitement of the game when he was on the field, and said he won’t need to give a big motivational speech to get his own players ready for the game.
“You don’t have to say much,” he said. “If I have to hype a kid up to play that game, I don’t know if he has blood running through his veins.”
Roberts definitely won’t have to hype up receiver Jackie Tucker. The senior wide receiver has been through several of the losses to Pasco, and he wants to finish his high school career as a winner in the rivalry game.
Tucker knew they had a lot to prove in this game, even before the season started.
“I have to show my doubters what we can do. They say that Pasco’s always been on top in the county. At Zephyrhills, we’re here to show them different,” Tucker said back in August. “It’s going to be a crazy game.”
With home-field advantage, Roberts expects the fans to contribute to the atmosphere. In fact, the game is perfect preparation for the postseason, Roberts said. Pasco-Zephyrhills has a built-in playoff atmosphere, and it’s a good way for him to see how the team handles a pressure situation with a lot on the line.
It’s up to his players to perform at a high level, but he expects the fans to do their part to keep the enthusiasm level high.
“We have a new dog pound section of the stadium. I’m sure that’s going to be packed and faces painted,” he said. “We have the truck pound on the north side of the end zone. I’m sure the loud engines will be revving, and those guys will be tailgating from the back of their trucks. There’s no other place like it.”
Published November 4, 2015
