PCHS Bulletin – Brooklynn Deckman and Mary-Kate Wainscott
Date Published: Sept. 26, 2025
Parrish Bulls Football is back! The Bulls kicked off their regular season on August 22 and currently have a 4-1 record.
Check out the season so far as the Bulls take their bye week:
Bulls christen new turf with third straight blowout over Bobcats
(Friday Aug. 22, 2025)
Prior to the Parrish Bulls’ home opener, fans witnessed a new era being rang in with the ribbon cutting of the brand-new AstroTurf at Bullpen Stadium.
Principal Daniel Bradshaw, Athletic Director Shawn Trent, multiple School District of Manatee County officials, and representatives from those involved with the project were present for the pre-game ceremony.
Shortly after, the Bulls took their turf for the first time this season and made sure to christen it well against a familiar opponent in the North Port Bobcats.
The final score read 48-7 in favor of the Bulls, but it wasn’t even close at halftime as the Bulls were up 48-0 heading into the locker room.
This success against the Bobcats is nothing new to the Bulls, as in 2023 they gained their first shutout in school history against the Bobcats with a 42-0 win. Then in 2024, they beat them again 24-3.
Quarterback Brycen Volz (Sr.) had his best game since taking over as the starting quarterback for the Bulls, completing 13/16 passes for 171 yards, an 81% completion rate, and five touchdowns. His performance earned him a 153.9 QB rating and helped the offense gain 271 total yards on the night, averaging 8.74 yards per play.
Two of those touchdowns went to wide receiver Brandon Trucano (Sr.), who finished with six catches for 85 yards. One of his touchdown catches was a 39-yard house call, and he also added a 46-yard punt return for a touchdown. Trucano’s Week 1 stat line earned him “Player of the Game” recognition by Farm Bureau Insurance and a nomination for the Herald-Tribune Boys Athlete of the Week.
In addition to Trucano, WR Kaden Clarkin (Sr.) had a 37-yard touchdown grab, running back Cameron Houston caught a 20-yard pass for a touchdown, and WR Ashton Fischer (Jr.) also caught a touchdown for five yards.
Linebacker Zach Bonisch (Jr.) led the defense with 10 tackles, and defensive lineman Ty Baker (So.) had 3.5 tackles for loss (TFL). Baker, along with full-safeties Denver McDonald (Jr.) and Wyatt Goodman (Sr.) each forced a fumble. Defensive end Daylin Wagner (Sr.) recovered one of those fumbles. All of this added up to a 70% C.H.A.O.S rate for the defense.
“We played really well as a team, executed really well, especially on offense,” Bonisch said. “I feel like we as a defense did our part, but the offense really carried the game for us.”
The Bulls avoided penalties in all three phases of the entire game, Head Coach Dylan Clark mentioned.
“The product was really good,” he stated. “I think that we played a clean ball game from a disciplinary standpoint.”
It was a good start for the Bulls as they next welcome the Bayshore Bruins to their new turf.
Bulls blank Bruins in second straight shutout against rival
(Friday Aug. 29, 2025)
Leading up to the Parrish Bulls’ game against the Bayshore Bruins, Head Coach Dylan Clark’s word of the week for his team was “execute.” He admitted that leading up to the North Port victory, he did not think it was a great week of practice.
“I think that we’ve had a better week of practice [this week] and it’s going to depend on how we go out and execute,” he said. “That’s something that we focused on this week, being more focused and trying to execute at a higher level.”
“I guess I can let you know at 9:30pm how we do.”
By 9:30pm, the Bulls were celebrating a 40-0 win over the Bruins.
RB Jacoby Thomas (Jr.) acknowledged that the Bruins had done a lot of chirping towards his team that week, a stunt that carried onto the field.
That wasn’t an issue for the Bulls, because Thomas’ response to the chatter was taking the opening kickoff to the house for an 85-yard touchdown.
And from there, he didn’t cool off, finishing with 15 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns on offense. Thomas’ performance was recognized by Farm Bureau Insurance as the Player of the Game.
QB Brycen Volz went 10/16 for 152 yards and two touchdowns, one going to WR Brandon Trucano and the other going to WR Ashton Fischer. Trucano had another standout game with four catches for 104 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
LB Zach Bonisch said before the game that their goal as a defense was to not allow any points. They indeed did not allow any, making it the second year in a row the Bulls have shut out the Bruins.
Bonisch also said prior to the game that he wanted to better his stat line from the week before. He certainly did that with a whopping 17 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks.
DL J’Air Speaks had 2.5 sacks, and LB Silas Edwards (Sr.) and defensive tackle Kaleb Exume (Jr.) added another one and a half to total six sacks for the Bulls defense.
Exume forced a fumble that was recovered by LB Chris Ricciardi (Sr.). Cornerback Alex Eldredge (Sr.) also had two interceptions on the night.
Eldredge credited the early-morning workouts for the effort that was showing up on the field.
“Starting early in the morning, showing up, it builds a character that helps us become disciplined for the season,” he said.
It’s important for players like Eldredge to step up and fill in what was left behind by last season’s record-breaking defense that lost many players to graduation. Eldredge feels that task has been executed “perfectly” by the underclassmen.
The game totaled a 51% C.H.A.O.S rate for the Bulls defense heading into an away meeting with the Palm Harbor Hurricanes.
Bulls escape Hurricanes with tight win
(Friday Sept. 5, 2025)
The Parrish Bulls squeaked out a gritty 15-14 win on the road against a well-coached team in the Palm Harbor Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes defense kept the Bulls offense honest for most of the game, forcing three fumbles and recovering two of them.
But QB Brycen Volz rushed for a touchdown and went 22/29 for 178 yards to keep the Bulls in the game. An additional touchdown from RB Jacoby Thomas and a late two-point conversion from WR Brandon Trucano helped the Bulls outscore the Hurricanes in the fourth quarter.
Trucano continued to put up WR1 numbers with six catches for 79 yards. Thomas also led the rushing game with 21 carries for 95 yards.
For the second week in a row, CB Alex Eldridge had two interceptions on the opposing quarterback. His performance nabbed him Player of the Game recognition by Farm Bureau Insurance. LB George Chenard (Jr.) also recovered a fumble, making it three turnovers for the Bulls defense.
FS Denver McDonald, LB Jamilyon Williams (Jr.), CB Patrick Robinson (Jr.), LB Zach Bonisch, and DT Kaleb Exume combined for 40 of the Bulls’ 73 tackles. On special teams, CB Braydon Jacobson (Sr.) blocked a field goal attempt by the Hurricanes.
It was a total team effort heading into an important district rematch against the Palmetto Tigers.
Bulls take a humbling loss against the Tigers
(Friday Sept. 12, 2025)
With the taste of last season’s 21-14 loss to the Palmetto Tigers still fresh in their minds, the Parrish Bulls travelled to Palmetto for a highly anticipated rematch, hoping to flip the script and come out on top.
Despite losing to the Tigers last year, Head Coach Dylan Clark insisted his “process-oriented” team would not change anything in their game plan or approach towards arguably their most important game of the year.
“We haven’t changed the script, we haven’t changed anything,” Clark said prior to the game. “Focus on details and the little things, which is one of the reasons we got beat last year, has a priority.
“But who we are is who we are, we don’t change. Week to week or day to day, we are perishable.”
The foreshadowing for the district rivalry game was identical to last year; the winner of this game would likely have the advantage towards the district championship, in addition to bragging rights over their North River rival.
“I feel like there’s definitely a higher or motivated energy this week,” QB Brycen Volz said, adding he felt the team was more prepared for this year’s game.
That hope was extinguished not long after kickoff that night.
The Bulls were quickly humbled, as the Tigers’ offense was on fire all night long. It was a far cry from last year’s tight matchup, which came down to the last minute with a late touchdown drive by the Tigers. This year, it wasn’t even close, as the Tigers finished the first half with a 24-0 lead and later a 38-8 victory.
During the first quarter, there were many penalties towards both teams, which could be drawn to the hostile environment from the schools’ respective student sections and bands that were present at the game. They remained loud all game long, even while the game was under a mercy clock rule.
Prior to halftime, rain clouds from the east threatened to affect the game, but they never materialized, allowing the game to continue.
Despite being roasted by the Tigers, there were some bright spots for the Bulls, starting on defense with FS Denver McDonald and LB Mar’Keyon Maxwell (Sr.) combining for 35 tackles. CB Brayden Jacobson forced a fumble that was recovered by CB Alex Eldridge.
Volz played a mostly clean game, completing 11 of 21 pass attempts for 125 yards. One of Volz’s completions was a nice 33-yard ball to WR Brandon Trucano.
RB Jacoby Thomas scored the team’s lone touchdown in the third quarter, followed by a two-point conversion from Volz.
The Bulls will regroup and head home to host another close-by opponent, this one just across the Manatee River in the Braden River Pirates.
Bulls' offense anchors bounce-back win over Pirates
(Friday Sept. 19, 2025)
The matchup between the Braden River Pirates and the Parrish Bulls has long been a mainstay matchup in the school district’s football schedule. Since 2022, the Bulls have a 2-1 record over the Pirates, including an electric 35-28 walk-off win in 2023 and a 35-0 domination in 2024.
The Bulls added a 40-6 victory over the Pirates to improve that opponent record to 3-1, and additionally improve their season record to 4-1.
It was a much-needed confidence boost for a Bulls team that was trampled by the Palmetto Tigers a week earlier. Head Coach Dylan Clark didn’t mince words when asked about how his team would use this week to bounce back.
“I don’t think we really have an option,” Clark said prior to the game. “We played about as poorly as we possibly could last week...it’s a great opportunity for us to go out and play our style of football and kind of erase what happened last week.”
And erase they did.
QB Brycen Volz completed 14 of 20 pass attempts for 219 yards and four touchdowns, two of which went to WR Brandon Trucano, who continued to establish himself as a favorite target for Volz with seven catches for 145 yards. One of his touchdown catches went for 44 yards.
RB Jacoby Thomas handled the run game with 17 carries for 111 yards and a rushing touchdown.
On defense, LB Keyon Maxwell and CB Braydon Jacobson each had a sack. Jacobson also forced a fumble that was recovered by LB Connor Post (Jr.).
DT Kaleb Exume was named Farm Bureau Insurance’s Player of the Game with four tackles, three tackles for loss (TFL), three pressures, and two pancake blocks.
Clark mentioned that they had focused heavily on fundamentals during the week’s practice, implementing a renewed sense of energy and effort for the team. DL J’Air Speaks added that the loss to Palmetto was giving the team some extra energy for the game against the Pirates.
Surely this win against the Pirates is a momentum boost for the program, which Clark believes is “relative.”
“I think that we try to go out every single week and win each and every quarter, every single play, and then at the end of the game we want the product to be what everybody wants it to be,” he explained.
How the Bulls plan on approaching their bye week
With victories over the Bobcats, Bruins, Hurricanes, and Pirates, the Parrish Bulls have averaged 30.2 points per game this season. In the three victories where they scored 34 or more points, the Bulls defense hasn’t allowed more than seven points.
QB Brycen Volz has 11 touchdown passes so far this season, exceeding the seven he had from all of last season.
WR Brandon Trucano has solidified himself as a reliable WR1, averaging 94 yards per game. His 325 receiving yards ranks first in the 6A District 11 class.
RB Jacoby Thomas has also settled into an RB1 role, averaging 73.4 yards per game and leading the team with eight touchdowns.
CB Alex Eldridge’s four interceptions rank 13th in the state of Florida, second in the 6A division in Florida, and first in the district. LB Zach Bonisch also leads the district in tackles with 43, and he’s been averaging 10.2 tackles per game.
“I don’t think that we’ve met the standard or the expectation yet, so there’s still a lot to do,” Head Coach Dylan Clark said. “I got two really good coordinators in Seth Varnadore (offensive coordinator) and Frank Post (defensive coordinator) ...we try to maximize who we have and try to score a lot of points. So I think both of those guys do an outstanding job.”
So now comes the team’s lone bye week of the season, and Clark says it is much needed.
“It helps us get healthy and it lets us take a deep breath after a stressful six weeks,” he said. “We’ll take a breath and focus on things that we need to get better at and then move into Winter Haven week.”
“Most people could look at it as getting a rest,” DL J’Air Speaks said. “It gives us an opportunity to keep getting better for the next week. So I feel like moving into the bye week we should still execute like we’re playing with a bigger tomb.”
The Bulls’ schedule for the remainder of the season is stacked with district opponents in three consecutive weeks following the bye.
They hit the road on October 4 to visit the Winter Haven Blue Devils, then return home for the Homecoming game against the Gateway Eagles on October 11. The Bulls will then honor their seniors in their home finale against the Lennard Longhorns on October 17. Afterwards they hit the road for games against the Lakewood Ranch Mustangs (October 24) and the Sarasota Sailors (October 31).
During that span, the Bulls will try to solidify their place in the playoff hunt for the third consecutive year.
“I almost sound like a broken record, but we don’t change what we do,” Clark said. “We’re process-oriented, so we’re not going to attack those district weeks any different than we attack regular season games.”
“We’re pretty set in our schedule. We’re preparing Saturday and Sunday, and then we’re going to go and practice Monday through Thursday, and then we’re going to go out and try to execute to the best of our ability on Friday.”