Top Week 8 Florida Football Performers
In this article:
When the Villages Charter football program shut out Titusville Astronaut, 35-0, last Friday night, the Buffalo moved to a perfect 8-0 on the season.
While the talk has centered around so many programs this season in Florida, this is definitely a team that has not received the attention they truly deserve.
Outscoring their opponents, 359-60, head coach Richard Pettus and his team have flown way under the radar, and with three weeks left in the regular season, 2A schools had better snap themselves away – because this program is for real.
In that win over Astronaut, highly regarded
Tranard Roberts
Tranard
Roberts
6'0" | 180 lbs | RB
The Villages | 2027
State
FL
had a huge game scoring and had several other key runs. Also, Brady Hunt was the player of the game. He had a pick six and a touchdown and multiple big plays.
2026 – Brady Hunt, TE/WR/OLB, 6'3, 205 – 4.2 GPA. Basketball.
2027 –
Tranard Roberts
Tranard
Roberts
6'0" | 180 lbs | RB
The Villages | 2027
State
FL
, RB, 6'0, 180.
2027 – Jayson Vasquez, Athlete, 6'2, 190, Groveland South Lake – 3.8 GPA. Basketball. Had 4 tackles and several key plays in a win against Winter Garden Horizon.
2026 – Devonte “D.J.” Howard, Athlete, 6'0, 165, Lakeland Christian. Basketball. Baseball. The University of South Dakota commit had 3 catches for 130 yards, 2 touchdowns and a pick 6 for a score.
2027 – Nixon Kalish, QB, South Plantation. In moving the surprising Paladins to 6-1, he threw 4 touchdown passes in a come-from-behind win.
2027 – Shamoi “Mo” Green, RB, 5'11, 165, Callahan West Nassau. Finished with 17 carries for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns.
2026 – Ben Lejkowski Ben Lejkowski 6'0" | 180 lbs | QB Cambridge Christian | 2026 FL , QB, Tampa Cambridge – 5.4 GPA. Had a solid three touchdown game on just 9 completions and 150 yards.
2027 – Rafael Salvatierra IV Rafael Salvatierra IV 5'8" | 155 lbs | WR/ATH Miami | 2027 FL , Athlete, 5'9, 155, Miami Palmer Trinity – 4.2 GPA. He had a huge Week 8 - Offense: 3 receptions for 93 yards, 2 touchdowns - 3 carries, 26 rushing yards. On defense, he came up with 4 Tackles, 3 solo, 1 assisted, 2 pass break ups.
2027 –
Tre Kelly
Tre
Kelly
5'10" | 180 lbs | QB
South Lake | 2027
FL
, QB, Groveland South Lake. Ended the night 19 of 25 for 301 yards 4 touchdowns. Also added 20 yards rushing 1 TD.
2027 – Camarr Eugene Camarr Eugene 6'2" | 210 lbs | EDGE/LB Jefferson | 2027 FL , OLB/Edge, 6'2, 215, Tampa Jefferson – 3.7 GPA. Had a breakthrough night with four sacks and numerous tackles to set the tone on the defensive side of the ball.
2026 – Andrew Austin, OL, 6'2, 270, Starke Bradford County. Weightlifting. Often when offenses put up big numbers, linemen are taken for granted, but in last Friday night's victory the Tornadoes received some big time play up front with 5 Pancake Blocks that opened huge holes for the running and passing games.
2027 – Jathan DeHaven, WR/Athlete, 5'10, 165, Port Orange Spruce Creek – 3.6 GPA. Baseball. It has been an exciting year for this program – with several players stepping up. In a convincing win against Orange City University, he ran just seven times for 133 yards and added a reception.
2026 – Peter McLaughlin Peter McLaughlin 6'1" | 200 lbs | DB/LB Coconut Creek | 2026 FL , S/LB/Nickel, 6'1, 200, Coconut Creek North Broward Prep. It was a quality Week 8 for this impressive football player as he finished with 16 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 2 tackles for loss.
2027 – Connail Jackson, RB, 5'11, 180, Sarasota Cardinal Mooney. It has been a banner year for the Cougars, and last Friday night in a key 2A contest against previously unbeaten St. Petersburg Lakewood scored four times and went over 225 yards. One of the top underclassmen in Florida.
It has been quite a season for the Lakeland Dreadnaughts football team – with some quality performances throughout the season. In last week's win against Sebring it was indeed all about defense – once again:
2027 – Drew “Hellcat” Sapp, DE/FB, 6'3, 240 – 3.5 GPA. Finished with 6 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 quarterback pressures, adding to his season total.
2026 – Ashtan O'Neal, DL, 6'0, 265 – 1200 SAT. Was also active in the win – with 3 Tackles, 4 QB Pressures, 1 Sack and 2 tackles for loss.
2026 - Orlando Evans High School has a new career rushing leader, and that record of 3,200 yards belongs to 6'0, 200-pound Li’Darious Pryor Li’Darious Pryor 5'10" | 205 lbs | RB Evans | 2026 State FL . The amazing thing about his impressive total is he's only been a fulltime starter for just two seasons.
2028 – A.J. Chung, QB, 6'0, 180, Winter Garden West Orange – 4.815 GPA. It has been quite a year for this quality sophomore quarterback, who threw for 5 touchdowns on 17 completions for 261 yards in just one half. He is indeed one of the elite prospects in the state of Florida.
2026 – Steven Malone, DL, 6'1, 250, Oviedo – 3.6 GPA. In a win over Winter Park Lake Howell, he finished with a blocked punt, fumble recovery for a score, 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 2 quarterback hurries.
2026 – Rico Butriago, QB, 5'10, 170, Melbourne Holy Trinity – 4.03 GPA. Threw for 219 yards on 15 completions with 2 throwing passes and 1 rushing.
2026 – Fisher Grizzard, WR/Slot, 6'1, 170, St. Petersburg – 3.4 GPA. Finished with over 100 yards on 6 receptions and 3 touchdowns.
2028 – Rylen Dutka, QB, 6'1, 180, Lutz Steinbrenner. One of the top young athletes in the region came up with a huge outing, accounting for 383 yards and 3 touchdowns. In addition to being named varsity captain, he is also a standout baseball player.
2026 – Ty Wise, OL, 6'4, 315, Pace – 4.7 GPA. This Clemson commit has not only been impressive this season (NO SACKS. NO QB HURRIES), but the four-year standout has been one of the best linemen in the nation, setting records with pancake blocks and opening holes for a solid running game for the two-time district champions.
OCTOBER CLASS OF 2027 RANKING UPDATES: https://prepredzone.com/florida/rankings/2027-rankings/
DAILY INFORMATION: https://prepredzone.com/florida/
You Can Contact Larry Blustein with prospect or team information at: Floridakids1@aol.com.
COACHES, PLAYERS: Do You Have A Subscription? Contact us for a savings code so you can see what everyone has been talking about! Floridakids1@aol.com.
