This season, Lake Nona kicked off fall practice with a bang. After winning their first district title since 2016, the Lions are eager to win another one.
It won’t be simple. Tohopekaliga and St. Cloud would like to comment on that, but the Lake Nona defense is strong.
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Following last year’s two extremely successful graduates—Lake Nona’s Michael Dove, who is currently enrolled at the Naval Academy, and St. Cloud’s Logan King, who chose not to play collegiate football—both Nona and St. Cloud will have new quarterbacks this season.
Sabby Meassick is a quarterback for Toho who sets records. Since his rookie season, coach Anthony Paradiso has used Measick, despite his diminutive size, as a passing sensation. Meassick, who is 5’11” and 175 pounds, has passed for 101 touchdowns and 10,026 yards.
Junior Jason Stevens leads Nona’s attack, while sophomore Jeremiah Lattier leads St. Cloud’s. Both players had outstanding spring games. Lattier is a Lake Minneola transfer.
Size is important to Toho quarterback Sabby Meassick | Football Insider
According to St. Cloud coach Mike Short, he already possesses a strong understanding of the offense and has a large arm. That s the really exciting part for me. It feels like I’m right back there after having Logan for the last four years and not having to worry about the quarterback position.
St. Cloud returns talented senior linebacker/safety Bryce Williams, who will be joined on defense by standout Osceola transfer Jude Cockroft, one of the top defensive linemen in Central Florida. The Bulldogs have four defensive transfers from Toho, including the return of junior linebacker Mattaeo Cammarasana.
“This summer has been good to us, and we’ve looked pretty good this offseason,” Short said. We are definitely pursuing Nona. Since they are the district champions, I believe that Toho, Harmony, and I are all striving to catch up to them. However, I believe our chances are as strong as any.
The Lake Nona offense, led by Stevens, has senior Jacob Collazo at receiver and senior Kimbrel Kimmons back at running back.
The defensive line bookends Kahlid Feliz, a transfer from East River, and DeAnthony Lafayette, who is committed to LSU, are the main defensive players in Lake Nona. Together, they form one of the region’s top DE tandems.
Short of St. Cloud stated of Lafayette and Feliz, “Those ends are the real deal.”
A pair of gifted juniors are also returning: linebacker Anthony Moreno, who was the team’s top tackler the previous season, and safety Charles Woodson Jr., the son of the former Heisman Trophy winner.
According to David Aubrey, the third-year coach of Lake Nona, “we’ll definitely be leaning on our defense.” Those children enjoy playing and running around.
We feel pretty confident with the guys we have and the experience we have. We are enthusiastic about our possibilities because 14 of our starters are back. The run has been enjoyable. It’s an exciting time for us since I’ve known all of these kids since they were in Pop Warner.
In his pass-happy approach, Paradiso, who recorded his 100th career victory last season, always finds a way. Tre Punter, a gifted receiver, is back for Toho after losing several transfers.
Don Simon, who coached the Longhorns from 2017 to 2022, returns to Harmony as head coach after spending the previous two academic years as an athletic director at Toho.
Harmony Longhorns
Don Simon is the coach (7th year, 34-27).
2024: 3–7; 7A playoffs were missed.
Lions of Lake Nona
Third-year coach David Aubrey (11–10).
2024: 7A playoffs, 7-4.
St. Cloud Bulldogs
Coach: Mike Short (career 28-35, 7 seasons; 5th year, 20-11).
2024: missed the 7A playoffs, 5-5.
Tigers of Tohopekaliga
Anthony Paradiso is the coach (fourth year, 19–13; 102–75, 17 seasons).
2024: 7A playoffs, 6-5.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com@OS_ChrisHays.
