By Kyle Coppola
Umatilla High’s Bryce Norflee Named Male Student-Athlete of the Week
Junior standout Bryce Norflee scored five touchdowns to lead Umatilla High School to a dominant 48-6 victory over Tenoroc on Friday night, pushing the Bulldogs to a perfect 2-0 start to the season.
Umatilla, now considered one of the teams to beat in the Sunshine State Athletic Association, has outscored opponents by a combined 101-12 through two games. The Bulldogs were in control from the opening kickoff, with Norflee sparking the offense and making key plays on defense.
(Bryce Norflee leads the SSAA in touchdowns scored through two games played this season.)
Norflee, a 5-foot-9, 150-pound speedster, continued his breakout junior campaign after a stellar sophomore season. While Bryce had five touchdowns he would have had a sixth touchdown but it was called back due to a penalty. Through two games, Norflee has six total touchdowns (four rushing, two receiving), 209 all-purpose yards, two interceptions, and two tackles for loss.
According to MaxPreps, Bryce is currently ranked 10th nationally in total touchdowns and leads both the state of Florida and the SSAA in scoring. He also tops the SSAA Atlantic Coast division in interceptions and is the No. 1 ranked receiver in the division.
(Bryce Norflee is one of the top offensive talents in the Sunshine State Athletic Association. Photo Credit – Nicole Hamel.)
Senior quarterback Ray Jenkins turned in a strong two-way performance, contributing to the Bulldogs’ offensive rhythm while making an impact on defense. Juniors Isaiah Brown and senior Kellen Hatcher anchored a swarming Umatilla defense that stifled Tenoroc from start to finish. Nate Hawkins was a beast making plays in the middle of the field. Tyler Pounders also contributed with the first touchdown of the game.
Head coach Eric Samuels has the Bulldogs playing with confidence and discipline early in the season.
(Umatilla High head football coach Eric Samuels has worked hard to return the Umatilla High football program to prominence. Photo Credit – Joe Ott.)
Coach Samuels told us at the start of the season that his group was locked in and ready to compete at a high level in 2025. He was very excited about what this team had built and worked for over the summer and it’s paying off early this year.
Umatilla High will now get a bye week before facing Eustis High in a rivalry game on September 5th. That will be the first of a three game home slate for Umatilla that includes games against Interlachen on September, 11th at 7pm and Central on September, 19th at 7:30pm.
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.
