Tohopekaliga notches win No. 1

After three straight losses, Lake Tohopekaliga moved into the win column last week after beating Celebration 26-19 to give Osceola County’s newest school its first football victory.

It took only four weeks for Osceola County’s newest high school to win its first varsity football game.

Tohopekaliga intercepted four passes and recovered two fumbles on the road Friday before coming away with a 26-19 win over Celebration (2-2).

“Everybody was happy and excited because it was one of those last-minute type games,” Tohopekaliga coach Anthony

Davis said. “It was a lot of fun.” Junior quarterback Blake McCullough, an Osceola transfer making his first start, hooked up with Anthony Gonzalez and

Christian Hale for touchdowns in the fourth to give the Tigers the lead for good after they trailed 13-12 through three quarters.

Tohopekaliga (1-3), playing as an independent this year, plays at Bartow (0-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. before returning home Sept. 28 to host Liberty (1-2) at the AustinTindall Sports Complex.

“It’s their first victory but they’ve got to understand that we’ve still got six more games to go,” Davis said of his team.

The Tigers could look a lot different the remainder of the year with McCullough under center. The season began with blowout losses against Jupiter, St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins and Harmony.

“We’ve been trying to find that magic piece on offense, so we tried something different and went with a read-option look,” Davis said. “I thought we had control of the game for the most part and our guys played really well.” J.C. Carnahan

Stat stars

■ Cornerstone Charter senior Angel De

La Rosa set program records for yards rushing with 181 and touchdowns with five on 20 carries as the Ducks posted their first football win of the year, 33-0, vs. visiting Four Corners Charter last week.

■ Foundation Academy (4-0) junior quarterback Henry Austad set school records with 454 yards and six TDs passing in a 48-0 shutout of St. Petersburg Northside Christian. That put him over 1,000 yards for the year going into Friday’s game at 4-0 Deltona Trinity Christian. Austad has an area-best 15 TD passes, one more than 6-foot-6 QB Matt Gillis of Master’s Academy (4-0).

■ Vincent Thomas is averaging 10.1 yards per carry for Lyman (2-2) going into a Friday district game vs. visiting Lake Mary (2-1). He’s carried 68 times for 689 yards. Edgewater (4-0) quarterback R.J. Harvey is at 14.8 yards per keeper (25-369). Buddy Collings, J.C. Carnahan

Hitting their stride

Lake Brantley’s Ashley Klingenberg was sidetracked for most of her sophomore year due to injuries. But she’s definitely back on course this season. The junior captured her third individual title in three cross country races at the St. Cloud Invitational, leading the Patriots to their third team title. Mount Dora Christian senior Gabriel

Curtis is also three-for-three for 2018. He crossed the line first in the Babe Zaharias Twilight Invitational in Tampa last week. Buddy Collings

Leadership roles

Joely Donovan of Lake Mary and Adam Wolcott of DeLand are two of the 11 new members to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s student advisory committee. That panel allows student-athletes to share their perspective on FHSAA rules, regulations and special initiatives.

Donovan, a junior, is a varsity player for her school’s lacrosse and soccer teams and is involved in multiple clubs.

Wolcott is on DeLand’s baseball and swim teams while serving as president of his school’s International Baccalaureate Club and a member of other organizations. Buddy Collings

State scene

There were some hefty point totals in football games devoid of defense last week.

Oakleaf of Orange Park outscored St. Johns Bartram Trail 69-53, Coral Reef defeated Varela 72-35 in a Miami point parade; and St. Johns Creekside put up 72 and allowed 40 against Jacksonville Episcopal. Buddy Collings

Extra points

■ Central Florida Christian Academy allstate basketball guard Dante Treacy originally committed to Army but ending up signing with another D1 program, Robert Morris of the Pittsburgh area, last week. ■ Jack Anthony of Orlando teamed with Benjamin Zipay of Osprey on the Gulf Coast to win the boys 16s doubles tennis title on Monday in the Bobby Curtis Junior state Doubles Championship at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona.

■ Hagerty senior bowler Logan Furlong is on a roll. He bowled a 279 game on Monday after posting a 275 last week. Buddy Collings