August 15, 2025
South Sumter High Grad Malakhi Boone Begins Freshman Campaign with UCF Football
By Kyle Coppola
South Sumter High Grad Malakhi Boone Begins Freshman Campaign with UCF Football
Former South Sumter High School standout Malakhi Boone is officially beginning his freshman season with UCF football, bringing with him a reputation as one of Central Florida’s most versatile and productive high school athletes.
Malakhi, a 6-foot linebacker ranked as a three-star prospect by both 247Sports and Rivals, was a two-way force at South Sumter, where he played both running back and linebacker.
(Malakhi spent the past four years at South Sumter High School and now transitions to UCF to play his freshman year of college football.)
Known for his physicality and relentless motor, Malakhi finished his high school career with 408 total tackles, including 79 tackles for loss and 27 sacks. In his senior year alone, he notched 114 tackles, eight sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception a performance that earned him All-Conference honors for the second straight season.
South Sumter head coach Ty Lawrence recently said, “There’s not a lot of guys who can make plays on both sides of the ball like he can and then go hit .400 on the baseball diamond. He is a special talent.”
Offensively, Malakhi rushed for 653 yards and 11 touchdowns over his high school career, often serving as a bruising option in short-yardage situations. He was also a multi-sport athlete, competing in varsity basketball and baseball. On the diamond, he earned a ‘9’ grade from Perfect Game and hit .443 as a sophomore with 15 RBIs and five home runs.
Malakhi’s versatility and athleticism drew attention from multiple Division I programs, but he committed to UCF last year. We are so excited to see this young man continue his athletic and academic journey right down the road. We wish him the best of luck this upcoming season.
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.
