July 8, 2026
South Lake High’s Christopher McKenna Signs to Play Football with Southern University
By Kyle Coppola
South Lake High’s Christopher McKenna Signs to Play Football with Southern University
Christopher McKenna, a five-star kicker ranked among the top prospects in Florida and the nation, announced his commitment to play football and continue his academic career at Southern University.
Christopher starred at South Lake High School in Lake County. He chose the FCS Southern University program after helping lead the Eagles to the school’s first FHSAA Regional Championship appearance in 2025.
“I’m excited to announce my commitment to Southern University,” Christopher says. “I’m thankful for all the coaches who have helped guide me in this journey.”
South Lake has built a reputation for producing quality kickers, including former Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout Roberto Aguayo more than a decade ago. Christopher continued that tradition with a strong varsity career.
In that span, he scored 125 points, converting 74 of 77 point-after-touchdown attempts. Known for his leg strength, Christopher routinely made kicks from beyond 50 yards and thrived in high-pressure situations.
“What can I say about Christopher, he’s a guy we’re going to miss at South Lake,” South Lake head coach Brad Lord says. “When the game was on the line, having a kicker who you can trust kick 50-yard field goals changes the game. At the end of the day he’s a game changer and that’s what you want on your team.”
Lord, who emphasizes special teams, highlighted Christopher’s impact in critical moments.
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“There were multiple times we found ourselves in challenging situations at the end of halves and games but having Christopher really made a difference,” Lord says. “I’m a big special teams guy and when you have a good special teams it helps you win football games.”
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Christopher joins the Southern Jaguars of the SWAC, who are coming off a 2-10 season in 2025. The program will look for immediate contributions from the incoming kicker as it seeks to return to its winning traditions in 2026.
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.
