Tohopekaliga Tigers Trending Upward In Coach Paradiso’s Third Season at the Helm

When he took over the Tohopekaliga football program prior to the 2022 season, former Lake Nona Head Coach Anthony Paradiso knew there would be no quick fixes. He was taking over a 2-8 team featuring average talent, no direction, and low morale.

Although immediate improvement took place in year one (6-4), Paradiso knew it would take some time to fully turn the program around. Now entering its third season under Paradiso, the Tigers are beginning to see the progress of his plan to build a solid foundation for success.

“We had a lot of issues that we had to address. Getting everyone on the same page on how we wanted to do things, hitting the weight room to get bigger and stronger, learning a new system. This is year three and I am certainly pleased with the direction we are going,” Paradiso said. “We graduated a lot of talented players last year, but to be totally honest, I think this may be our most athletically gifted team we’ve ever had.”

Tohopekaliga opened camp with a record 110 kids in uniform and said as many as 15 or 20 more were expected when school started. Paradiso said building those participation numbers were part of the plan. “We have a lot of athletes who want to be a part of this program and that allows us just plug in players to replace those who graduated. For example, we lost most of our starting defensive line to graduation this year, but we have 14 guys ready to step in and play this year.”

The Tigers offense will be under the control of record-setting junior quarterback Sabby Meassick, who has thrown for 77 touchdowns and more than 6800 yards in his first two seasons – both county career records. Paradiso calls the junior the “most advanced quarterback I have ever seen for his age” and said Meassick should be even better this season. “Sabby doesn’t need to worry about the playbook anymore because he knows it inside and out,” Paradiso said. “He can now concentrate on team leadership.”

Although its top three receivers in Churandy Duval, Delvin Pryor and Julian Nasco (200 receptions, more than 2300 yards and 27 touchdowns) graduated, Paradiso says Meassick will have plenty of wide receivers to throw to this season. “Tre Punter (51 receptions, 628 yards, 3 TD) and Emmanuel Theagene (7-104-2) return and we have five other guys including a freshman named Tony Brown, who has a chance to be a really special player. We have three running backs, including Jaxson Hardnett and Dominic Lombardi, that can replace Duval. We have the guys on offense to make plays for Sabby.”

Protecting his quarterback against the more physical teams was a problem in 2022-23, but it is an area where the Tigers should be greatly improved this season. Kayden Polite, Daniel Omurkulov, Wade Cordell, Davin Cajuste all return as three-year starters.

Although Tohopekaliga graduated most of its starting defense, they do return USF commit Andrew Hines (6-4, 265) on the defensive line; as well three-year starter Nashawn Noel at DB. Linebackers Ryan Wells and Chase Gilbert will step in as starting linebackers; but again, Paradiso points to depth as the greatest asset. “Guys that were backups and jayvee players last year are stepping up into more prominent roles,” he says.

Paradiso, who is entering his 26^th year of coaching, says its players like Hines that keeps him coming back. “Every year, I say it’s going to be my last year but you develop special relationships that make you want to come back. Andrew Hines came to us a sophomore and simply wasn’t that impressive. But the kid worked his tail off, did everything we ask of him and became a great player. He going to graduate early and be at USF this spring. Developing players, getting them to graduate, helping them fulfill their dreams whether inside or outside athletics. It’s what makes you want to do the job.”

Under new classifications, Tohopekaliga finds itself in a new district (Class 7A, District 10) with county rivals Harmony and St. Cloud; as well as his former school Lake Nona. “The county games will be more significant because they are district games and I had some great years at Lake Nona, but at the end of the none of that really matters. What does matter is did we do everything we could do to help these kids graduate, did we help them reach their potential and did we prepare them to become productive members of society? After 25 years of coaching, those are the things define success, not how many games we win.”

By: J Daniel Pearson
For Positively Osceola