By Kyle Coppola
Eustis High School Hires Darnell Harrison as New Head Football Coach
EUSTIS, Fla. – Eustis High School has announced the hiring of Darnell Harrison as the program’s new head football coach, succeeding Joe Burnett, who resigned over a week ago.
(From left to right Eustis High Principal Tracy Clark, Eustis Football Head Coach Darnell Harrison, Eustis Athletic Director Matthew Burgess.)
Harrison, a seasoned offensive and defensive coordinator, previously served at Mount Dora Christian Academy where he was instrumental in the team’s defensive strategies. He led MDCA to a State Conference Title last season in the SSAC. His appointment marks a new chapter for Eustis High as it looks to build upon the previous two seasons.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Harrison to Eustis High School,” said Athletic Director Matthew Burgess. “His extensive experience and track record of success align perfectly with our goals. We are confident that he will continue to lead our program with the same passion and dedication that has brought us to where we are today. I want to personally thank Jabari Dunham, Linton Brown and Dave Miller who continued to make sure the program still functioned as we transitioned head coaches. Coach Harrison reached out to Michelle Long and I am so glad he did. We are so excited to have him part of our program,” says Burgess.
(In a beautiful moment, coach Harrison laid out his vision for Eustis High Football to Athletic Director Matthew Burgess. Both men looked out at the Eustis High football field and you could tell it was a wholesome moment for coach Harrision seeing his new home.)
Eustis High football achieved significant milestones under head coach Frank Scott including clinching back-to-back district titles in 2022 and 2023. The past two years have brought with it much success for the Panthers and while coach Scott has moved to Leesburg, Eustis now has a head coach who has a plan and a vision laid out for the future.
“I am honored to take on this new role and excited to contribute to the continued success of Eustis High football,” Harrison said. “I look forward to working with our talented players and dedicated staff to build on the foundation that has been laid and drive our program forward.” Eustis High Principal Tracy Clark says “I am delighted to have Coach Harrison join Eustis High. We have had trumendous success the past few years at Eustis High with our athletics programs. We are excited for the shcool year,” said principal Clark beaming with pride.
(Coach Harrison was led around the school and introduced to his new staff.)
Harrison was born in Orange County and played football at Oakridge High. “Since I was in high school people always called me coach. I always liked to mentor and I still do 25 years later. I’ve been doing this a long time and it still gets me just as excited as when I was a little kid playing this game.” says Coach Harrison.
After high school, coach Harrison played college football with Kemper Military Academy and Western Illinois. He was an All-American Receiver and played professional football in the IPFL which is the Indoor Professional Football League. He won a IPFL Championship in 2001 with the Tennesse ThunderCats. After his professional career was over, coach Harrison got into coaching football at Lake Howell. He also coached for Lake Mary Prep and most recently Mount Dora Christian Academy.
(Coach Harrison led MDCA to a state championship and conference championships. He also coached MDCA track & field athletes to earn State Championship medals.)
“I just want to personally say how thankful I am to Mount Dora Christian Academy for the past four years. Megan Ziegelhofer the athletic director and head football coach Kolby Tackett have been so supportive of this transition. This is my first head coaching position and I can’t tell you how much their support truly means to me. I am honored to have been a part of that school and win championships with them. I wish them nothing but the best this upcoming season,” says coach Harrison.
“I not only coached football but track & field, basketball and many other sports. I am a professional trainer and have trained NFL star Brandon Marshall, and UCF legends Steven Moffett and Joe Burnett,” says coach Harrison who actually works as a trainer for Elite Image in Eustis. This is a big opportunity for coach Harrison and we are so pumped about what he does with the Eustis program.
(Walking around with coach Harrison you could see him thinking about his program and calculating how to get the most out of Eustis Football in 2024.)
The Eustis High players and family members won’t have to wait long to see coach Harrison in action. The team’s first game is this friday night in DeLand at 7:00pm.
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.
