August 26, 2025
Eustis High Head Football Coach Darnell Harrison Steps Down After First Game Loss
By Kyle Coppola
Eustis High Head Football Coach Darnell Harrison Steps Down After First Game Loss
Eustis High School head football coach Darnell Harrison has stepped down from his position, the school announced Tuesday. In his place, assistant coach George Wade has been named interim head coach effective immediately.
The move comes just one week into the 2025 season, following a 37-0 loss to East Ridge High School. Eustis entered the season with high hopes despite coming off a one-win campaign in 2024.
(Just two weeks ago we talked with Eustis High Head Coach Darnell Harrison who was excited about the season. He stepped down this week.)
Athletic Director Matthew Burgess emphasized that the change in leadership does not reflect a loss of confidence in the team’s potential.
“This is in no way Eustis throwing in the towel,” says Matthew. “We fully expect to win football games this year. Coach Wade is stepping in to keep us focused on our goals and to give our athletes the best chance to succeed.”
Coach Harrison’s departure was not detailed further in the school’s statement.
(Coach Harrison stands with Eustis Principal Tracy Clark on the left and Eustis Athletic Director Matt Burgess on the right.)
George Wade, who has served as an assistant with the program, will take over as Eustis looks to rebound in Week 2 with a matchup against Atlantic High School. A rivalry showdown against Umatilla High School looms the following week.
This is the fourth coach in 2 years at Eustis High School. The program had back to back district championship winning seasons in 2022 and 2023 under head coach Frank Scott along with trips to the FHSAA Playoffs. Coach Scott is now with East Ridge High School as a coordinator.
“There is still a long season to go and we expect to go out and win games this year,” says Matthew.
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.
