October 23, 2024
Umatilla High Sophomore Isaiah Brown Is Our Defensive Player Of The Week
By Kyle Coppola
Umatilla High Sophomore Isaiah Brown Is Our Defensive Player Of The Week
UMATILLA, Fla. — Umatilla High School sophomore Isaiah Brown has been named Defensive Player of the Week after an outstanding effort in the Bulldogs’ dominant 47-8 victory over Pierson Taylor. Brown, a 6’0″ 200lb middle linebacker, recorded 18 total tackles, anchoring a defense that held the opposition to just one touchdown the entire evening and won the senior night game for Umatilla High.
Brown, who boasts a 3.5 GPA, has emerged as a key player for Umatilla this season as they prepare for a playoff run and set their sights on the Sunshine State Athletic Conference State Championship.
Football runs in Brown’s family, with his grandfather, Rufus Brown, having played for Plant City High School before attending Florida A&M University (FAMU). Rufus later played professionally for the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits and was a replacement player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 1987 NFL strike.
“I’m trying to follow in his footsteps and be the next in my family to reach that level,” Isaiah said.
Brown has racked up 51 tackles this season, making an impact as an underclassman. He has benefited from the guidance of senior linebacker Dallas Cottle, the team’s leading tackler with 105 total tackles, and fellow juniors Kellen Hatcher who plays Defensive Tackle and Nate Hawkins who is a linebacker have both had great seasons.
For Isaiah Brown this has been a coming out year. Last season Brown only had 9 tackles and played in a handful of games as a freshman. This season, Brown has put Lake County on notice. He’s put on muscle and over the next few years will continue to develop into a fine middle linebacker.
“I’m proud to play at Umatilla High, and having a coach like Eric Samuels—who knows the game and played in the SEC for Vanderbilt—makes it even better,” Brown added. Head Coach Eric Samuels has done a fine job at getting the Umatilla High program back to winning football games and has been a good leader for this group.
A multi-sport athlete, Brown competes in weightlifting and track & field. I am excited to watch this young man develop over the next few years. Already as a sophomore he’s had a positive impact this season and he will only continue to improve as the years progress. But first thing is first, Umatilla High is going to be playing Playoff football and Brown will look to round out his sophomore year on a positive note with a playoff run.
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.
