A Villages High School football star and another man were killed Friday night in a single-vehicle crash in Lake County.

Joseph Machado, 18, was a standout defensive player for The Villages High School football team. He was killed Friday night in a crash on County Road 48 in Lake County along with another 18-year-old, Phillip Leslie.

Joseph Machado, 18, was pronounced dead by a Lake County Medical Examiner at the scene of the 6:33 p.m. crash on County Road 48. He had just graduated from VHS on May 25.

The crashed occurred after 18-year-old driver Phillip Leslie lost control of his 1998 Toyota Camry while traveling east on CR 48 and slammed into a tree. Leslie, of Yalaha, also died in the crash, which occurred near the intersection of Rumford Road, a Florida Highway Patrol report states.

The crash remains under investigation and it’s unclear if alcohol was a factor. The FHP report also notes that neither Machado nor Leslie were wearing their seatbelts.

Joseph Machado, who was killed in a single-vehicle crash on County Road 48 in Lake County on Friday night, was a standout linebacker for The Villages High School football team. He’s shown above with his teammates at a football camp at Camp Blanding, and with another player and a date for a formal dance.

Machado, at 5-foot-9-inches tall and weighing 175 pounds, was a standout linebacker who wore the number 20 on the VHS football team. He could run the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds was a leading tackler who provided a senior voice for the team’s defensive unit.

During the 2018 season, Machado tallied 19 solo tackles and 119 overall tackles for an average of 9.9 per game, according to the MaxPreps website. You can view his football highlights reel from the Sept. 7, 2018 game against Taylor County by clicking HERE.

Machado’s sister, Tayla Ruth Machado, graduated from VHS in 2017. She was enrolled in the school’s health sciences academy and was believed to be involved in weightlifting at one time during her years at the school.

Phillip Leslie, 18, of Yalaha, was killed along with Villages High School graduate Joseph Machado on Friday night when his 1998 Toyota Camry slammed into a tree on County Road 48 in Lake County.

On Saturday, Machado’s friends were offering their condolences via the social media sites Snapchat and Instagram. One current VHS student posted a photo of Machado with the caption “rest easy Joe” with a broken-heart symbol next to it. And others were offering similar messages to their fallen friend throughout Friday night and Saturday morning.

Leslie’s Facebook page says that he was originally from Maryland and was an avid basketball player. A photo posted on his page from May 16, 2014 shows him wearing a Eustis school football jersey, but it’s unclear if he played for the high school’s team.