By Kyle Coppola
South Lake High Football Secures 17-12 Victory Over Tavares High
South Lake High School’s football team earned a hard-fought 17-12 victory over Tavares High in a thrilling game that finished before the sun set. Lights at the Tavares High School football field were not operational and neither was the scoreboard, but the game was moved up to 5pm to ensure the game finished during daytime hours. Quarterback Tre Kelly led the charge for South Lake, passing for 165 yards and a touchdown while adding 50 rushing yards to his gritty performance.
(South Lake High quarterback Tre Kelly had a touchdown, 50 yards rushing and 165 passing yards in the 17-12 win.)
The Eagles struck first in the opening half, with Chris McKenna nailing a 35-yard field goal to put South Lake on the scoreboard. Running back Malik Holman looked powerful running the ball. He would wind up with a touchdown along with Tre Kelly who also scored points. It was a low scoring affair but ultimately South Lake was able to hang on for the win.
The defensive unit, led by Quoy Nelson, Johens Misere, Jesse Barker Jr., and Murphy Connelly, made multiple key tackles to keep Tavares at bay. Their relentless pressure ensured that the Bulldogs couldn’t gain the momentum needed to stage a comeback.
Head coach Brad Lord praised his team for the gritty win but emphasized the importance of preparation for their next challenge. “While I’m proud of the team for the hard-fought victory, we have to prepare for The Villages next week,” Coach Lord said.
(South Lake High’s defensive unit looked much improved during the Tavares game.)
As the Eagles look ahead, they aim to build on this victory. With both The Villages and South Lake High coming into the game at 1-1 this is going to be a big game for both teams. If South Lake can pull off what would be a big victory at The Villages next Friday, that would really turn some heads.
Photo Credit – Cookupfilms
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.
