Wiregrass Ranch opened its 2026 season with a 24-21 loss Friday, Aug. 21, at South Sumter’s Inman Sherman Field in Bushnell.

South Sumter edged Wiregrass Ranch 24-21, handing the Bulls a loss in a game they were projected to win by nine points.

The claim that Wiregrass Ranch quarterback Levi Pavlikovic completed 17 of 26 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns is incorrect. Pavlikovic is Wesley Chapel’s quarterback, and those statistics came in the Wildcats’ 34-28 win over Southeast—not Wiregrass Ranch’s loss to South Sumter. The Wesley Chapel Wildcats Football account on X described the performance as a program record.

Former Bulls quarterback Daniel Terry threw for 382 yards and six touchdowns in Wiregrass Ranch’s 42-41 overtime playoff loss to Palmetto in 2025, according to Tampa Bay Beacons reporting.

Terry transferred to Gaither High School during the offseason. He threw for 2,578 yards and 23 touchdowns while rushing for 364 yards and eight touchdowns for the Bulls in 2025, according to the Tampa Bay Beacons’ preseason guide.

Head coach Mark Kantor said during spring practice in May that the team “focused on more mistake-free football and fine-tuning than scrambling to fill holes” heading into 2026. The Bulls returned most of their skill-position talent from last season, including wide receivers Jonah Gonzalez, Cedric King and Donteis Austin.

Still, the opener’s final score stung. Wiregrass Ranch dropped nine spots to No. 25 in the Florida Power Rankings Index’s Tampa Bay regional rankings after the loss, according to FloridaHSFootball.com. South Sumter climbed three spots to No. 10 in the North Central Florida rankings.

The Bulls finished 5-6 in 2025, starting 0-4 before rallying to make the playoffs, where they lost 42-41 in overtime to Palmetto in the first round. Wiregrass Ranch competes in Class 5A-7 this season alongside Land O’ Lakes, Sunlake, Cypress Creek, Wesley Chapel and Wharton.