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Not Funny Anymore: 8-0 Gulf Exceeding Expectations

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By BART O'CONNELL

Tribune correspondent

Published: November 1, 2008

ZEPHYRHILLS - The thought was ridiculous before the season, as in Gulf's coaches literally started laughing when it was brought up in a summer meeting.

Assistant Mike Rusche was the first to mention the possibility of going 8-0 and playing Pasco with the Class 3A-District 8 title at stake.

After calming down, Coach Jay Fulmer cautioned Rusche about sharing his thoughts with anyone outside that room.

"I said, 'Yeah, it would be great, but whatever you do, don't even think, don't even say that in front of the players,' " recalled Fulmer.

And it's safe to say that none of the Gulf players took that eighth win, and the Bucs' second playoff appearance in three seasons, for granted until the final horn sounded on a 30-14 victory against Zephyrhills at Bulldog Stadium on Friday.

The victory set up a showdown between Gulf (8-0, 4-0) and Pasco (7-1, 4-0) on Friday, and the winner will be the district champion.

Suddenly, Rusche's thought isn't funny anymore.

The key to the Bucs' success, besides the obvious (the Tampa Bay area's leading rusher, Adrian "Bubba" Golden), is that Gulf has taken every opponent seriously. With fewer than 30 players and most of the starters playing both ways, any kind of complacency had the potential to lead to a defeat.

"The great thing about this team is no matter what we do, every Monday they're just thinking about the next team," Fulmer said. "They've done a great job with that and we really don't have to say anything."

Against Zephyrhills, Golden and quarterback Madison Burr were challenged early by the defense, but responded. Golden had 25 carries for 202 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 1,806 yards and 26 TDs on the year, while Burr scored on a sneak before halftime and had a pair of 2-point conversion passes.

Fulmer actually described Golden's performance as "a little subpar, a little off his average. … But he had another great game."

If anything, Golden actually appreciated the challenge laid down by the quick Zephyrhills defense, which tackled him for a loss four times.

"That's just getting us ready for next week," he said. "We can't get too [big]-headed. We've still got a game next week, and we want to be district and conference champs."

Zephyrhills (3-5, 2-2) actually kept it close during the second half, behind a stellar game from receiver Alex Sampson (eight catches, 123 yards, one TD) and another solid running effort by Michael Peterman (13 carries, 69 yards, one TD).

Gulf led 22-14 in the third quarter, but Fulmer put the ball in the hands of the running game, which kept the Bucs in control.

An unsung hero all season according to Fulmer, fullback Will Burbridge ran 11 times for 111 yards and recovered a muffed Golden punt return in the third quarter that could have given the Bulldogs good field position and a chance to tie the game.

"His ability to run the ball and pick up some key first downs really saved us tonight," Fulmer said. "If we had to rely solely on Bubba tonight, we would've lost this game."

Correspondent Bart O'Connell can be reached at tampasport@gmail.com.

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