By Kyle Coppola
Defense Of The Week – South Sumter Raiders
Our defense of the week goes to the South Sumter Raiders who got a massive 63-6 victory against Hernando this past Friday evening. All of the Raiders starting Defensive Backs got interceptions on the evening including #4 Rashad Johnson, #9 Ja’Kyrian Turner, #13 Doby Gibson and #2 George Mullins. Each one of these players brings something different to the table, but one thing is for certain, they are a force to be reckoned with.
(#9 Ja’Kyrian Turner intercepts the ball and runs it back for a touchdown. Turner has 8 touchdowns this year.)
All of these players have shined at one point or another this season. But this game, the Raiders just eliminated any possible chance for the Hernado offense to get anything going. They completely took away the passing game, forcing Hernando to run the ball. However the defense was able to force Hernando to punt all night long and turn the ball over often leading to a massive 63-6 victory.
(George Mullins #2 would also intercept a ball for his first defensive touchdown score of the 2023 season.)
Doby Gibson leads the Raider defensive backs in tackles this season with 37. Meanwhile #2 George Mullins has had a stellar year. This kid has what it takes to play at the next level and we have enjoyed watching his highlight reel all season. Mullins has a few blocked field goals, an interception returned for a touchdown. Ja’Kyrian Turner has been equally as good. Turner also plays offensively and has been involved in quite a few offensive touchdowns. He got a nice defensive interception for a touchdown in last Friday nights game against Hernando adding to his season total of 8 so far this year.
(Rashad Johnson has 2 offensive touchdowns and was able to intercept the ball on defense against Hernando this year. All South Sumter Defenisve Backs are having great years!)
Head coach Ty Lawrence has the boys looking good down the home stretch of the 2023 season. But this weekend will be one of the biggest tests of the year for the Raiders as they go up against Vanguard a school that handed Leesburg its only loss of the season so far. This should be a fun matchup between two powerhouse schools. If South Sumter can continue the great defensive effort that we have seen this year, they should have a good chance at possibly contending for a win.
Congratulations to the South Sumter Defense and good luck this weekend!
Photo Credit: Ty Lawrence
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.
