Prep Prospect Report

Welcome to the team, Coach Lew!

🔘PPR MEDIA GOTW POLK COUNTY🔘

Game of the Week: Lakeland 58, Specially Fit Academy 0

Kelin Hendrix threw 3 TD passes (to Cam Fuse, Wendell Carson, Zo Vildor). Xavion Mitchell added 2 rushing TDs; Ahnarri Cooper, Steward Butler, and Hendrix also scored on the ground. Defense: Travoris Black INT, Charles Calhoun 2 blocked punts, Deonte Fielder fumble recovery, Ahmaad Watts forced fumble. Lakeland improves to 5-1 (second shutout of the season). 

OTHER POLK SCORES

• Auburndale 31, Haines City 6
• Lowndes (GA) 44, Winter Haven 0
• Bartow 36, Fort Meade 0 (freshman QB Kayden Terry 2 TDs — 35-yd pass, 30-yd scramble)
• Lake Gibson vs. Kathleen — final score not widely published in available recaps at time of report

PLAYERS TO WATCH

• Kelin Hendrix, Lakeland QB — 3 pass TDs + rush TD
• Cam Fuse, Lakeland WR — TD reception
• Xavion Mitchell / Ahnarri Cooper / Steward Butler, Lakeland RBs

🔘PPR MEDIA GOTW LAKE COUNTY🔘

Satellite 49, Eustis 6

Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 | The Panthers Den, Eustis | non-district

Satellite stayed unbeaten and rolled Eustis in the Lake County Game of the Week. Final: 49–6. Eustis drops to 1-5. Satellite at 7-0 after the win;

Other

• Tavares 35, Leesburg 0
• South Lake 28, Boca Ciega 22
• Mount Dora 35, Crystal River 30 (Crystal River’s highest scoring output of the season but still searching for first win)
• East Ridge 57, Wiregrass Ranch 30 (or 57-14 in some reports; East Ridge dominates)

🔘PPR MEDIA GOTW OSCEOLA COUNTY🔘

WK 7: St. Cloud 28, Gateway 21

St. Cloud handed Gateway its first loss of the season in a district game. 

St. Cloud 28, Gateway 21
Friday, Oct. 2 | Class 6A-5 district
St. Cloud (4-2, 1-1) handed Gateway (5-1, 1-1) its first loss. The Bulldogs won it on the ground and closed it with a sack on the last snap.

Team / individual

• St. Cloud rushed for a season-high 150 yards and four touchdowns without starter Michael Cuyler (shoulder).

• Eli Manning, Jr. RB — 82 yards and 2 TDs (local recap; Sentinel had 18 carries, 88 yards, 1 TD). Starting in place of Cuyler. Named Osceola Air Player of the Week.

• Jaden Taylor-Irons — 3-yard TD run, plus the two-point run after Manning’s first score.

• Owen Sullivan — 1-yard TD, the go-ahead score.

• Colton Sklarek, LB — game-ending sack of Span Jr. with one second left, after Gateway had driven from its own 3 to the St. Cloud 8.

• Nydrell Thigpen, Gateway RB — 2 TDs and crossed 1,000 rushing yards. Held to 57 yards (Positively Osceola) or 87 yards on 32 carries (Sentinel), more than 140 under his average. Still the Panthers’ only scoring threat.

• Aristotle Span Jr., Gateway QB — 15-yard TD run; sacked on the final play.

Gateway reached the 8 with 18 seconds left after overcoming 2nd-and-25 at its own 3. Thigpen was stopped for no gain, then Sklarek ended it.

Other
• Dr. Phillips 13, Osceola 0
• New Smyrna Beach 35, Tohopekaliga 14
• Celebration 7, Liberty 0
• Titusville 43, Davenport 6

🔘PPR MEDIA GOTW ORANGE COUNTY🔘

Jones 15, Ocoee 6

Damir Williams (transfer from Evans, approval last week) rushed for 116 yards and 2 TDs on 19 carries (40-yard TD in the 2nd, 10-yard TD in the 3rd). Jones defense held Ocoee scoreless until a late blocked-punt recovery TD. Rome McKinnond sealed it with an interception. Jones (4-1) has allowed just 21 points in its last four games. Ocoee falls to 3-3. 

The First Academy 49, Cocoa 3

Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 | Class 2A District 5 Championship

Payne Stewart Athletic Complex, Orlando

The First Academy clinched its first district title since 2016 and locked up an automatic FHSAA playoff berth with a decisive 49-3 victory over Cocoa.

The Royals (5-1) improved to 1-0 in the two-team Class 2A District 5 and will return to the postseason for the first time since 2022 after two seasons of ineligibility.

Key Performers

Hyquez Russell (Fr. RB) – 10 carries, 165 yards, 3 TDs. The freshman running back was the clear offensive star, powering the ground attack and finishing with three scores.

Deuce Woods Jr. (Fr. QB) – 2 rushing touchdowns and 1 passing touchdown (to Zechariah Jean-Bart). The young dual-threat quarterback added two scores with his legs and connected through the air for another.

Bam Whitfield – 25-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Zechariah Jean-Bart – Touchdown reception from Woods.

TFA turned an early Cocoa turnover into points and never looked back. Freshman Hyquez Russell’s efficient night (16.5 yards per carry) set the tone, while Woods continued his strong dual-threat play.

Other Orange Results

Dr. Phillips 13, Osceola 0
Boone 20, Horizon 0
Timber Creek 44, Freedom 0
Olympia 41, Oak Ridge 13
Foundation Academy 37, Windermere Prep 0

Lake Highland Prep 35, Bishop Snyder 19 (Talan Henderson 212 rush yds, 2 TDs)

Players to Watch

Damir Williams, Jones RB/ATH — 116 yds, 2 TDs.

Rome McKinnond, Jones DB — game-sealing INT

PPR MEDIA GAMES TO WATCH

Week 7, Friday, Oct. 2

GREATER ORLANDO- The two teams that owned last Friday are dark. Seminole is 6-0 and ranked No. 5 in Class 6A after a 43-18 win over Apopka. Edgewater is 3-2 and No. 7 in 6A. West Orange, Lake Nona (5-1), and Oviedo (4-2) are also off. The live slate is district football and a few road tests.

Jones at Ocoee, 7 p.m., is the Orange County game. Jones went to Lakeland last week as a 4A contender. Ocoee is at home and has already beaten Apopka this year. This is the one local public-school game with playoff weight.

Cocoa at The First Academy, 7 p.m. at the Payne Stewart Athletic Complex, is the name on the board. The Royals are 4-1, Florida’s No. 10 on MaxPreps, with the only loss a 48-27 decision to IMG Academy. Cocoa is a district opponent in 2A-5.

Lake Mary at Mandarin, 6:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, is the Seminole County trip. The Rams are 1-4 after a 28-21 district loss to Lake Brantley. Mandarin is 4-1 and No. 7 in Class 5A. A win on the road is the reset Lake Mary needs before it hosts the Seminole date on Oct. 9.

St. Cloud at Gateway, 7 p.m. in Kissimmee, is the Osceola district game. St. Cloud is 3-2 after a 43-8 loss at Lake Nona. Gateway has been the unbeaten story in the county.

Haines City at Auburndale, 7 p.m., is the Polk public headliner. Lakeland is 4-1 and No. 3 in Class 5A after a 49-point win over Auburndale last week.

Satellite (6-0) at Eustis and Tavares (3-2) at Leesburg are the Lake County pair. South Lake, off a 34-0 win over Wekiva, hosts Boca Ciega.

Players to watch

• AJ Chung, West Orange QB — 17 touchdown passes through five games. The Warriors are on a bye, so he is the name to track into the Oct. 9 district date at Dr. Phillips.

• RJ Hampton and JoJo Watson, Seminole corners — the tandem Karl Calhoun has called the best in Central Florida. They are off after the Apopka win.

• The First Academy skill group — the Royals put up 27 on IMG and 42 on South Lake. Cocoa is the district opener.

• Mount Dora’s backfield — 218 rushing yards in the 24-7 win over Leesburg. Leesburg now gets Tavares, which rushed for 297 in a 42-34 win at Lake Minneola.

• Lake Mary skill players at Mandarin — four losses in five, and the next two weeks are Mandarin and then Seminole.

Prep Prospect Report Media Game of the Week

Recap Lake County | Friday, September 25, 2026 Mount Dora Stadium

MOUNT DORA — Mount Dora took the district night at home. The Hurricanes beat Leesburg 24-7 at Mount Dora Stadium and walked off 2-3, 1-1 in 4A-5. The Yellow Jackets left 0-5 and 0-2 in the district.

It was the first district win of the Jacob Laub era. Laub took the Mount Dora job in the spring after the program turned over two coaches in six months, and Friday was the cleanest statement the Hurricanes have made since August. They scored 24, held Leesburg to a single touchdown, and got the ball into the hands of the player who has carried the offense all fall.

Westin Geiger, a 2027 wide receiver wearing No. 1, was that player. He carried 21 times for 121 yards and a touchdown, and he did it as a receiver being used as a runner. That is the kind of usage Prep Prospect Report watches. Geiger is 5-10, about 170, and already the Hurricanes’ leader in rushing and receiving production. No college offer is on file. A 121-yard night in a district win is the tape that should change that.
Kaiden Quashie, a 2029 athlete in No. 3, was efficient in a small sample: 2-for-2 for 29 yards. Quashie is listed at 5-8, 150, with a 3.8 GPA, and he has already been in camp settings this spring and summer. He is not the feature yet. He is the next name on the Mount Dora board.

Gervasio Bakhshi, a 2027 receiver in No. 13, added a 32-yard catch. Quarter-by-quarter scoring was not posted. What is confirmed is the final, Geiger’s touchdown, and Leesburg’s one score.

Leesburg’s side of the ball belongs to a roster still searching for a win. Javion Fluitt, a 2028 receiver and defensive back in No. 4, is 6-1, 170, and the best size-speed name on the Yellow Jackets’ skill list. Alvin Fluitt, a 2027 receiver and defensive back in No. 5, is 5-10, 165. Neither has a published offer.

Titus Dixon, elevated to head coach in June, is trying to steady a program that has changed coaches often. Friday did not give him the result. It did put Fluitt and Fluitt on a PPR film night against a district opponent.

Mount Dora plays in white with orange numbers and a black helmet with an orange stripe. Leesburg plays in black with orange JACKETS lettering, orange numbers, orange pants, and a black helmet with an orange stripe. Same county, same palette, different night. The Hurricanes made the plays. The Yellow Jackets did not.

Prep Prospect Report Media was on site. Geiger is the player to file from this game. Quashie is the one to track into 2029. Fluitt is the Leesburg name that still belongs on a watch list after a loss.

Next: Mount Dora at Crystal River. Leesburg hosts Tavares.