November 11, 2024
Wildwood Middle High Football Host Hamilton County in FHSAA Rural Division B Playoffs
By Kyle Coppola
Wildwood Middle High Football Host Hamilton County in FHSAA Rural Division B Playoffs
Wildwood, FL — Wildwood Middle High School’s football team has made it to the FHSAA Rural Division B Playoff Regional Semifinals, gearing up to host Hamilton County at home on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The winner will advance to face Port St. Joe on November 22 in the Regional Finals.
(Tyrese Keiler has led the offensive charge for the Wildcats this season.)
Despite a challenging 3-6 season record, this year marks significant progress under first-year head coach Lorenzo Fields. A former Wildwood quarterback who led the Wildcats to state championship appearances in the mid-1980s, Fields brings a wealth of experience and hometown pride to the program. Fields has been working to build a competitive foundation, and his leadership has already produced a playoff team capable of doing some damage in the FHSAA Rural playoffs.
(Taylor Keiler is a hard worker. The quarterback did everything he could this year to earn Wildwood a spot in the FHSAA Playoffs.)
Offensively, the Wildcats have relied on the versatile play of quarterback Taylor Keiler, who has racked up 1,069 passing yards and thrown for eight touchdowns. His brother, Tyrese Keiler, has emerged as a dynamic offensive threat, amassing over 500 combined rushing and receiving yards along with 10 touchdowns. Wide receiver Devonte Huff has also been a key contributor, with 380 receiving yards and five touchdowns, while Kevonte Corbin leads the rushing attack with 268 yards and one touchdown.
On defense, linebacker Chaz Blocker has anchored the unit with a team-high 52 tackles, bringing a hard-hitting presence to the field. The Wildcats’ secondary has also excelled, with Louis Brown leading the way with three interceptions, while Huff and sophomore Zephaniah Harris have two each. Overall, the defense has collected nine interceptions this season.
(Wildwood is ranked as the #7 seed while Hamilton County is ranked #10.)
Facing Hamilton County, Wildwood’s primary task will be slowing down the Trojans’ ground-heavy offense, led by running backs Brandon Atwood and John Lawson, who have accumulated 600 and 500 rushing yards, respectively. Stopping Hamilton’s potent rushing attack will be critical if the Wildcats are to extend their postseason run.
With a resilient defense and explosive offensive weapons, Wildwood is ready to make a statement in Friday night’s playoff opener as they pursue a spot in the Regional Finals.
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.
