The South Lake High School Eagles improved to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in district play with a hard-fought 19–10 victory over Mt. Dora on Friday night.
The Eagle defense set the tone early, keeping Mt. Dora’s offense in check for most of the night. Chase Coella and Tyson Williams recorded double-digit tackles, while Rome McKinnond made a huge impact with a blocked punt and field goal, both of which swung momentum South Lake’s way. Jesse Barker, Murphy Connelly, Ramond Carter, and Isaiah Desir consistently pressured the Mt. Dora backfield, while Julian White and Ahvioume Scott came up with key interceptions in the secondary.
On the offensive side, Tre Kelly threw for 214 yards and a touchdown. Running back Malik Holman powered the ground game with 153 rushing yards and two scores. Receiver Keydrick Powell hauled in six passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Isaiah Pina, Cody Mason, and Tyrese Thompson contributed clutch catches. Up front, the offensive line—Landon Coning, Andrew Carter, Christian Taylor, Blayton Rush, Dylan Prinzel, Mark Elder, and Isaiah Desir—kept the pressure off Kelly and opened lanes for Holman’s big night.
Despite the win, Coach Bradley Lord noted areas for improvement:
“Our offense needs to finish when we are in the red zone. We can’t leave points off the board and we did that tonight on two drives. We have to clean it up before we go to Ocala Forest for District game #2.”
Up Next: The Eagles travel to Ocala Forest on September 26 for their second district matchup.
(Thank you to Coach Bradley, SLHS and Andrea Rush Photography for keeping the SLT readers in the know)
