Cypress Bay names Casullo, winner of two state football titles, head coach
With Josh Shapiro moving on to become the new head football coach at South Broward last month, that left an opening at Weston Cypress Bay.
On Monday, athletic director Scott Selvidge announced his replacement and it’s a familiar name.
Former Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Rocco Casullo will be returning to the sidelines next season to take over the reigns of the Lightning football program.
“Clearly, Rocco’s football pedigree and experience is a great get for Cypress Bay,” Selvidge said. “We are extremely excited about the future and direction of our program with him at the helm.”
Casullo was a longtime assistant at St. Thomas Aquinas under the legendary George Smith before being named as his replacement when Smith retired following the 2010 season and a sixth state championship.
Casullo then led the Raiders to two state titles during his four-year tenure as the head coach, 2012 and 2014. He left Aquinas following the 2014 season to take over at Mater Academy in 2015 where he promptly led the Lions to their deepest playoff run, the regional finals, in program history.
Casullo left Mater Academy following the 2016 season to go into private business. Cypress Bay, under another legendary coach, Mark Guandolo, was at an elite level from 2008 to 2013 and came within an eyelash of winning the 8A state title in 2012 dropping a 57-53 heartbreaker to Apopka in the championship game.
This past season, Casullo coached youth football with the Weston Warriors, right around the corner from Cypress Bay High School.
“I definitely missed being away from the sidelines for three seasons, and I’m really excited to be coming back,” Casullo said. “Cypress Bay, as everyone knows, is a first-class school with a great administration and athletic director who would like to see Cypress Bay back as a contender. I’m looking forward to getting the program back on the football map.”
DISTRICT WRESTLNG
▪ Favorites to win a seventh consecutive state title in a few weeks, the South Dade wrestling team took its first step last weekend when the Bucs won their 19th consecutive district title.
The Bucs figured to be pushed by host and rival Miami Southwest and while the Eagles came in a solid second, South Dade finished comfortably ahead with 265 points to Southwest’s 212.5. Columbus, Palmetto and Coral Reef finished third through fifth with 138, 108 and 52 points, respectively.
Adrian Neco (132 lbs.), Cordell White (138), Bretli Reyna (145), Joshua Swan (152), Steven Villalobos and Jose Perez (285) all came through with first-place finishes for the Bucs. Danny Martinez (113), Sebastian Melguizo (126), Adrian Vidaud (170), George Llanes and Jeremiah Mauras emerged victorious for Southwest.
▪ Championship results: 106 — Christian Guzman (COL) d. Adrian Morales (SD) Fall, 0:31; 113 — Danny Martinez (SW) d. Jancarlos Rivera (SD) Fall, 4:21; 120 — Corey Gallivan (PAL) d. Alex Couto (SD) 11-8; 126 — Sebastian Melguizo (SW) d. Jose Gonzalez (SD) 11-6; 132 — Adrian Neco (SD) d. Daniel Cabrera (SW) Fall 0:00; 138 — Cordell White (SD) d. Sebastian Montero (SW) Fall, 5:58; 145 — Bretli Reyna (SD) d. Dylan Mira (COL) Fall, 0:00; 152 — Joshua Swan (SD) d. Charles Veliz (PAL) 22-7; 160 — Steven Villalobos (SD) d. Destin Jones (PAL) Fall, 4:59; 170 — Adrian Vidaud (SW) d. Bryan Valdes (SD) 5-2; 182 — George Llanes (SW) d. Christian Llauger (CR) 15-4; 195 — Jeremiah Mauras (SW) d. Alejandro Gonzalez (SD) 3-2; 220 — Allan Quezada (PAL) d. Tanaveius Shropshire (SD) 6-4; 285 — Jose Paez (SD) d. Derrick Hart (COL) 13-10.