By Kyle Coppola
Lake & Sumter County High School Football Wrap-Up 10/10/22
Terrific Games! Near Upsets! An Incredible Weekend of Action!
Wow we had some incredible games! Excitement doesn’t even begin to describe this week of Football. From one score games to an overtime thriller down in Cheifland! Lets see how your local High School did this week!
What an up and down game this was on both sides. The game started off slow with each team exchanging possessions and field position. The first half was a defensive matchup and both offenses struggled to get going. Mitchell did a great job of containing #7 Alvon Isaac the RB/WR for The Buffalo. Isaac was almost a non factor in the first half. This is a far cry from what we have seen from the Junior Running Back coming off back to back 5 touchdown games.
That streak would not be extended tonight. Danny Bitting also had his struggles at QB. By halftime the score was 10-6 Mitchell. Coming out of halftime the Mustangs Quarterback #12 Chris Ferrini looked like he gained his confidence back after a difficult first half. Ferrini completed a pass to Drayk Simmons to take the lead late in the game.
The Villages was down 22-14 at that point and were looking to drive the ball down to try and get the game to within 1 score. However a fumbled snap by The Villages and an ensuing touchdown by Mitchells #7 Jamarion Miller was the icing on the cake. The Villages scored with a few seconds left on the clock but failed a two point conversion and that was all she wrote. For Mitchell this was a convincing win against a Villages team that is coming off a 10-o season last year.
The Villages has no doubt had their fair share of struggles this season but this game was ugly. The Mustangs improve to 4-3 on the season and are going into their toughest matchup of the season against Springstead who are 6-0. As for The Buffalo they really need to stop turning the ball over. The turnovers and penalties added up in this game and ultimately lost them the game. The Villages schedule doesn’t get any easier. They have a huge game against District Rival Mount Dora next weekend before turning their attention to a rivalry game on October 21st against Wildwood.
In what was the closest contest of the season for The Raiders they were able to somehow outlast the Bulldogs of Zephryhills in a thriller. This was a trap game for South Sumter and somehow they pulled off the victory. The game started off with South Sumter taking a 9-0 lead with a blocked kick which set the Raiders up for #5 Quarterback Eian Finkley to score a touchdown. The Bulldogs added on a touchdown of their own before halftime and it was close 9-7 at the half. That’s when things really started to get interesting.
Early in the third quarter Raider Junior Running Back #3 Jamare Dorsey Ripped off a 49 yard touchdown run to make it 16-7 Raiders. It was a game of cat and mouse the rest of the way but late in the game another South Sumter Touchdown made it 23-13. The Bulldogs made it interesting late with a touchdown that made it 23-20. South Sumter had to punt the ball back to The Bulldogs with under 3 minutes remaining in the ballgame. The Bulldogs comeback however was not to be. Zephryhills fumbled the ball as time was winding down and South Sumter recovered sealing the game.
What a tough loss this was for The Bulldogs. They gave South Sumter their closest scare of the year! The Bulldogs have nothing to hang their heads about. The loss stings but this team should be proud of almost handing The Raiders their first loss of the season. For The Bulldogs it doesn’t get easier next week as a trip to Pasco county awaits. Pasco is 6-0 coming into this contest and The Bulldogs will need to muster up everything they have if they want to pull of that upset. As for South Sumter this was a wakeup call for this team.
The Raiders have been absolutely destroying teams this season. However they didn’t look as dominant as we have seen in the past. The Raiders get a much easier contest next week when they face a struggling Hernando team who is only 1-5 this season. Look for South Sumter to get back to their dominant ways next week.
Are you kidding me? Is Mount Dora really 4-2? This is an incredible turn around for a program that has struggled to win even 3 games the last 5 years. What an amazing accomplishment by head coach Luke Hutchinson and this team lead by Running Back #2 Dante Johnson-Turner who now has an impressive 14 touchdowns this season! Senior QB #3 Matthew Butler looked great against Pine Ridge. Honestly Mount Dora likely could have played this game with 7 men on the field they were that dominant. The Hurricanes needed this game as a tune up to prepare for a game against The Villages a team they have not played since their last winning football season in 2016.
That year The Hurricanes beat The Villages 47-8. Can they muster up the prowess of that the 2016 Hurricane team showed? And can The Hurricanes actually make the playoffs this year? Yes thats right we said it. The Hurricanes have the potential to make the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade! It’s been since 2014 that The Hurricanes made a playoff run. Pine Ridge faces Seabreeze in Daytona next week. That may be the best chance at a victory for them as Seabreeze is 0-4 this season.
A game that came down to Overtime! This was a tough loss for Wildwood. They gave Cheifland all they could handle. It’s not often The Wildcats come into a game as the underdog but here we were Friday Night. The game was tied going into Overtime. Wildwood Quarterback #7 Vincent Brown Jr. played his heart out but ultimately came up just short of the victory. The loss is a tough one for the Wildcats but they get a much easier matchup next week when they take on The Jefferson County Tigers who have struggled this season and are 1-5 overall. As for Cheifland their perfect season remains intact. The Indians are having a stellar year. They have a winnable contest at home against Zarephath Academy next week.
This is a nice win for Forest who has been touch and go this year. A win gets them on the right track. In fact the next two contests for The Wildcats are against teams who are winless this season. If Forest wins those two games they would jump over 500 which is something we didn’t think possible a few weeks ago. This team has a lot of momentum going their way at the moment. There is still a path to the playoffs for Forest but they need to win these net two district games including a contest against West Port October 28th if they want a shot at it. Still what a nice victory for this school.
Leesburg on the other hand is a team that has had opportunities this season but just has not been able to make the most of it. The last three games of the season for The Yellow Jackets are going to be difficult. If they lose against Belleview next week which is a district game, getting into the playoffs will be almost impossible for this team however there is still a path. This team really needs to improve on defense. If they can clean some things up they may have a shot. However for now the most important thing is to win this next game against Belleveiw. They should be treating it like its a playoff game.
This game was unfortunately not even close from the start. Lyman was in full control and absolutely put a beat down on the Knights. Junior QB William Burke looked good out there for Lyman. Senior Running Back Cameron Bennett and Sophomore Running Back Julian Prime now have a combined 10 touchdowns on the season for Lyman. The Greyhounds have a really tough matchup against East River in Orlando next week before an away date with Oviedo.
Two tough games coming up for Lyman so they used this game as a nice tune up. Lyman improves to 4-2 on the season while East Ridge is still searching for answers. East Ridge is now 0-5 this season. However the good news for East Ridge is that the schedule is very easy the rest of the season and there should be some potential for wins. They will face 2 teams who also have no wins this season including South Lake and Tavares. Look for East Lake to give Forest a challenge next week as well. Forest is coming off a win against Leesburg so it may be another tough matchup for the knights.
The Cougars struggled to contain the high flying offense of Merritt Island. There were some bright spots for the Cougars as Senior QB Noel Rodriguez chucked the ball downfield to Senior Wide Receiver Tyree Patterson. The duo looked good and they kept it fairly close with Merritt Island but just didn’t have enough steam to come up with a major upset in this one. On the flip side Merritt Island encountered a scare in this one. The Mustangs were 18 point favorites to win the game. They struggled especially defensively against a stout Eustis offense that surprised Merritt Island with their run attack but particularly throwing the ball.
Merritt Island uses a ton of Wildcat and Option plays so Senior Yaseen DeReese, Dylan Burk and Running Back Elijah Edwards had a field day with the Panther defense who pretty much had no answers. For the Mustangs they play Bayside next week in what should be an amazing game between two 4-2 teams. As for Eustis the schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Panthers will play two out of the next three games in District Play. Games against Umatilla and Mount Dora will be a challenge but they also have The Villages and Wildwood coming up. If the Panthers want to make the playoffs the next three weeks will be critical to their season.
Cancelled Games and Byes
Lake Minneola @ Fleming Island – GAME CANCELED
At this moment we are unsure of why this game was canceled but it was. This would have been a fun contest as both teams had a lot to play for coming into the game. We are also unsure if this game will be replayed in the future so as of now we are treating it as a completely canceled football game. If The Hawks won this game it would have been a nice victory to their total and it could have helped them come playoff time. We just hope whatever reason the game was cancelled that everyone is healthy and safe.
Mount Dora Christian Academy – Bye
As we stated MDCA gets an off week before their biggest game of the year to date against Orlando Christian Prep.
Overall what a great weekend of football in Lake & Sumter Counties! Most of the games were actually played away believe it or not. This is the first time this season we have not had a Friday Night Lights Game played in Lake & Sumter county! No wonder the stars looked so bright because the stadium lights were all turned off! But seriously Jupiter has looked spectacular the last few nights and we have full moon this week! Did you say full moon? Yes you heard us correctly! What kind of craziness will next weeks games bring? Tune in next Thursday to find out! Our Friday Night Lights Weekend Preview will be out on Thursday so be on the lookout for more in depth analysis and statistics on the games this weekend! ‘Till then we will see you around!
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.
