By Kyle Coppola
MDCA’s Issac Farling and TJ McCormick Power Bulldogs to Hot Start
Mount Dora Christian Academy sophomore Isaac Farling has emerged as one of Central Florida’s top two-way players this season, helping propel the Bulldogs to a 5-1 start.
Issac, a 6-foot, 205-pound running back/quarterback and outside linebacker, has been a force on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he has rushed for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 9 yards per carry. He has topped the 100-yard mark in four games already this season. Issac also has played as the MDCA quarterback and has thrown for 203 yards and 4 touchdowns bringing his season total for touchdown contribution to 15 touchdowns.
(Issac Farling has contributed to 15 touchdowns so far this season. Isaac is just a sophomore.)
On defense, Issac has made his presence felt as well, recording 10 tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, and a fumble recovery.
He’s one of those guys who makes an impact no matter where he lines up and he has set the tone for MDCA this season.
(Issac Farling was recently honored as Lake County’s player of the week.)
Issac isn’t the only weapon in the Bulldogs’ backfield. Junior running back T.J. McCormick has racked up 523 rushing yards with eight rushing touchdowns. He has also contributed in the passing game, hauling in six receptions for 120 yards and two more scores, bringing his season total to 10 touchdowns.
Others who have made impacts include senior Noah Slegers who has 3 touchdowns and 413 rushing yards. Senior Sean “SJ” Mora also has 4 touchdowns with 2 on the ground and 2 through the air.
Behind a nice offensive line that coach Kolby Tackett has put together this season, MDCA’s offense has been tough to stop. The Bulldogs will put their momentum to the test Friday night in a key matchup against The Master’s Academy at 7:30 p.m.
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.
