By Kyle Coppola
South Lake Overcomes 14-Point Halftime Deficit to Beat East Ridge
The South Lake Eagles football team overcame a big first half from East Ridge on Friday night to bring home a senior night victory in Groveland with a final score of 49-35 improving to 7-1 on the season.
The Eagles and Knights went back and forth for most of the first half, but costly defensive breakdowns on big passing plays late in the second quarter left South Lake trailing 35-21 at halftime.
The second half was a different story as the Eagle defense shut down the Knights’ high-powered passing attack, limiting them to just 20 yards of total offense. The South Lake offense came alive behind strong blocking from the offensive line.
(It was a battle in the trenches. While East Ridge High had the advantage in the first half, South Lake High was able to score 28 unanswered points to win the game. Photo Credit – Andrea Rush Photography.)
Senior running back Malik Holman rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Tyrese Thompson added a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Junior quarterback Tre Kelly contributed three rushing touchdowns as the Eagles tied the game in the fourth quarter with eight minutes remaining.
Junior defensive lineman Anthony Johnson then recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to give South Lake the lead. A failed two-point conversion left the Eagles ahead by six with six minutes left to play.
The defensive surge continued as standouts Jesse Barker Jr., Ramond Carter, and Murphy Connelly dominated the East Ridge backfield. Rome “Bam Bam” McKinnond locked down the Knights’ top receiver, holding him to just one catch in the second half. East Ridge turned the ball over on downs, giving possession back to the Eagles.
Malik capped off the night with another touchdown run from the Knights’ 10-yard line, and Thompson added the two-point conversion to extend South Lake’s lead to 14 with just over three minutes remaining. The Eagles’ defense sealed the win with multiple sacks on East Ridge’s final drive.
“East Ridge is a very talented offense,” South Lake coach Brad Lord says. “They punched us in the face in the first half, throwing for over 300 yards. Our players showed trust in each other and resiliency. They kept fighting, and the tide changed in the second half. Our defense shut down their offense, and our coaching staff made some outstanding adjustments on both sides of the ball to bring this victory to our South Lake community. I am very happy for these seniors — they are the ones who did the heavy lifting to help this program get to where it is today.”
South Lake High will prepare for a cross town rivalry game next week against Lake Minneola High on October 24.
Photos provided by Andrea Rush Photography
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.
