August 26, 2024
Dallas Cottle Leads Umatilla to Dominant 35-0 Win with All-Around Performance
By Kyle Coppola
Dallas Cottle Leads Umatilla to Dominant 35-0 Win with All-Around Performance
UMATILLA, Fla. — Umatilla High School senior Dallas Cottle delivered a standout performance Friday night, leading the Bulldogs to a dominant 35-0 victory against Tenoroc. Cottle made his presence felt on both sides of the ball, contributing significantly to Umatilla’s win.
Cottle, a senior and key leader for the Bulldogs, recorded over 12 tackles, and was a true standout on a night where Umatilla dominated. He also recovered two fumbles, as the defense kept Tenoroc scoreless. Cottle is coming off a big 2023 season where he made 55 tackles along with 14 tackles for a loss.
(Cottle is a fantastic defensive player. He shined earlier this year during the spring game against First Academy-Leesburg.)
Offensively, Cottle was just as impactful. He rushed for over 100 yards, along with a touchdown run. Cottle was not alone as quarterback Josh Wilson connected with John Brake who caught 3 touchdown passes. It was an overall fantastic performance from Umatilla High who are looking for big things in 2024. Coach Samuels has done a great job this off-season getting Umatilla High prepared for the year.
(There was no stopping Cottle last Friday night. He was able to dominate on both sides of the ball.)
“Everybody had a great game,” said Cottle. “We came out with a lot of energy, and it showed on the scoreboard. I’m just proud of how we all played together as a team.”
The Bulldogs’ victory was a total team effort, but Cottle’s all-around performance was undeniably a positive highlight. “I want to go and play college football. I have a few college offers right now and I will be announcing where I will be playing towards the end of my senior year,” says Cottle. As Umatilla continues its season, Cottle’s leadership and versatility will be crucial as they aim for continued success in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference. A road matchup against cross-town rival MDCA will be one of the highlights of the season.
(Head coach Eric Samuels who’s a former player at Umatilla High, has the Bulldogs looking primed for big things in 2024. They hope to contend for a SSAC Championship.)
That game is scheduled for Friday night at 7:30pm at Mount Dora Christian Academy
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.
