September 2, 2025
South Lake High Soars To 2-0 Start After 23-12 Win Against Tavares High
By Kyle Coppola
South Lake High Soars To 2-0 Start After 23-12 Win Against Tavares High
The South Lake High School Eagles Defense put up 14 points on the board this past Friday Night to help South Lake High claim victory against a tough Tavares High School team. Defensive standout Tyson Williams would block a Tavares punt and Rome McKinnond would receive the ball in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. The extra point was good giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead early in the game.
Late in the second quarter junior Joseph Robinson would scoop up a fumble and score on a 45 yard fumble recovery giving the Eagles a 14-0 lead. Joseph also had a 55 yard interception return in the quarter. Offensively South Lake struggled against Tavares. The Bulldogs scored late in the second quarter on a broken pass play. The Eagle defense would rise up and block the extra point keeping the score 14-6 at halftime.
To start the third quarter the Eagles would start moving the football offensively. Good runs by Tyrese Thompson and Tre Kelly helped the offense getting. Tre Kelly was able to find Keydrick Powell for a 55 yard touchdown pass. The extra point was no good and the Eagles lead was 20-6.
Tavares drove down the field and convert a 4th and long opportunity. They hit a touchdown on a reverse pass and made the score 20-12. Tavares went for 2 points which did not convert. With a little over 5 minutes left in the game the Eagles offense moved inside the Tavares 30 yard line. The Eagles opted to go for a field goal to try and seal the win and trust their defense.
Out came kicker Chris McKenna who would knock a 42-yard field goal through the uprights giving the Eagles a 23-12 lead. The Eagles defense then put the game away with multiple big stops by Jesse Barker Jr. Anthony Johnson and Murphy Connelly.
“That was a big kick by Chris,” says head coach Brad Lord “Our Field Goal team executed the play after struggling at times during the game. Our defense played lights out all night except for a few plays. The Tavares defense was tough. Our offense struggled to move the ball in the first half and take advantage of the field position that our defense provided for us. We got a little better in the second half but have a ton of work to do. The high-flying Villages offense is coming to South Lake High next week. We have a ton to prepare for. They are well coached and disciplined,” says Coach Lord.
The next home game is August 29th at home against The Villages at 7pm.
Photo Credit – Andrea Rush Photography
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.
