Sunlake
Coach: Chris DiGiacomo, first season
Last season: 4-6
District: Class 5A-7
Schedule: Aug. 21 at Central; Sept. 4 vs. River Ridge; Sept. 10 at Wharton; Sept. 25 vs. Wiregrass Ranch; Oct. 2 at Weeki Wachee; Oct. 9 at Wesley Chapel; Oct. 16 vs. Cypress Creek; Oct. 23 at Land O’ Lakes; Oct. 30 at Jacksonville KIPP Bold City
Key players: HB Nathan Merriman, QB Xaveon Bell, WR Grant Zellers, RB Angel Rodriguez, LB Ian Leslie, LB Blake Daniels, FS Carson Bowers
Sunlake “starting over” again
Another season, another coaching change for the Seahawks with DiGiacomo taking over the squad just days before spring practice started. He inherited some talent, including senior standout running back Nathan Merriman, who, after missing most of 2025, looks to return to form from his sophomore year when he was a threat out of the backfield and in the passing game. Merriman had 809 yards rushing for 13 touchdowns and 332 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 19 catches when he was healthy two years ago. This season he will catching passes from a new quarterback — senior Xaveon Bell, who moves behind center after spending last season as a running and defensive back. DiGiacomo said he’s going to make sure receiver Grant Zellers (259 yards, five touchdowns) and back Angel Rodriguez (50 carries, 229 yards, four touchdowns) are also in the mix. Ian Lesile returns as the team’s top tackler, with 88 tackles, a sack and an interception. Blake Daniels, who had 84 tackles and a pick, also is back. Keep an eye on Carson Bowers, who led the team with two interceptions, plus 20 tackles last season.
There have been five coaches since Bill Browning, the father of the Sunlake football program, stepped away in 2018. Browning had a 73-58 record and four playoff appearances over 12 seasons. DiGiacomo is ready to prove he’s worth keeping around.
“The kids need to know if the coaches love them and care about them,” DiGiacomo told the Land O’ Lakes Beacon in May. “But accountability, structure, discipline and all that stuff’s really important in football. And (to play) good football, you have to have loving guys working together all at one time. It’s not just about winning on the field, although that’s a huge part of it, and that’s our goal. But it’s about helping them become better people, helping them become better students. I think if you pay attention to detail, you do things the right way, you have structure, you have organization, that stuff translates to the football field, and it helps you win
“You don’t win in spite of it, you win because of it. That’s what we’ve always lived by in every program I’ve led.”
Four Fun Facts about 5A-7
We’ve compiled some fun (and useless) facts you can bring out wherever you’ll be on Friday nights. That way you can entertain (and annoy) those sitting around you in the stands. Enjoy!
Bring it up on Apple Maps
Now that the teams in the new Class 5A-District 7 are in a roughly 5 ½ mile radius from each other, that should (traffic complaints aside) make for easier road trips for the away teams. Interesting enough, one could visit all six high schools in an hour and 21 minutes (that is with no bathroom breaks and sightseeing). In fact, it is just 35.6 miles to start at Land O’ Lakes, swing over to Sunlake, slide by Wharton, jump over to Wiregrass Ranch, cruise to Wesley Chapel and hit the finish line at Cypress Creek. Additionally, using the fastest route (given perfect traffic conditions), the two schools with the most travel distance are Land O’ Lakes and Wharton at 14.8 miles, while Wesley Chapel and Cypress Creek are nearly neighbors at only 3.7 miles apart.
Something old, something new
Many of the schools in this district are relatively new, with half of them still working on their first two decades — looking at you, Sunlake (20), Wiregrass Ranch (20) and Cypress Creek (9). Land O’ Lakes, the oldest of the bunch at 51, could pass for everybody’s dad, while Wharton (29) and Wesley Chapel (27) settle in as the cool uncles. And Cypress Creek is still the kid at the end of the table.
All the animals
Coyotes and Gators and Seahawks and Wildcats and — wait, more Wildcats? — and Bulls, oh my! That’s right, every mascot in this district is an animal, from the four-legged to the winged. Crazier still, the two schools that landed on the same one, Wharton and Wesley Chapel, opened just two years apart. How about some creativity, fellas? Speaking of …
Who are we?!
The Wildcats and the Wildcats have met just four times since 2005, and the Wildcats are 4-0. Which Wildcats, you ask? Wharton, which has outscored the Wildcats — Wesley Chapel, that is — 117-41. The two haven’t played since 2008.