September 29, 2025
Five-Touchdowns Land Tavares High’s Tamauri Collins Student-Athlete of the Week Title
By Kyle Coppola
Five-Touchdowns Land Tavares High’s Tamauri Collins Student-Athlete of the Week Title
Tavares High School junior running back Tamauri Collins turned in a performance to remember Friday night, scoring five touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a commanding 65-6 victory over county rival Eustis.
Tamauri carried the ball 14 times for 142 yards, averaging more than 10 yards per carry in the win. The speedster, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds, broke through the Panthers’ defense repeatedly, showcasing the explosiveness that has made him one of Lake County’s most dangerous playmakers.
(Tamauri has been among the top running backs in Lake County this year.)
Through the season, Tamauri is averaging 9.4 yards per carry as the Tavares High offense has opened holes allowing him to plow his way through the defense. The victory marked one of Tavares’ most dominant showings in the rivalry matchup, as the Bulldogs overwhelmed Eustis on both sides of the ball.
Tamauri’s ability to hit the hole and turn a simple play into a touchdown is special. He’s the kind of player who can change a game every time he touches the football and that is exactly what has happened this year.
(Tamauri has been difficult to stop. He had a 5 touchdown performance against Eustis High this past Friday night.)
Tavares High finds themselves 3-2 on the season. This team is in a good spot at the moment. They will prepare to face Mount Dora High on October 10, and Bishop Moore on October 17. Those are key district matchups. Tavares High barely missed the playoffs last year and will look to make it back to the FHSAA Playoffs in 2025. To do so they will need to contend in both those matchups. If they can win both of those they would secure a District Championship.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
