You did not need to be a football scout to figure out the Harmony Longhorns offense in 2021. It was a pretty good bet quarterback Aiden Parks was going to take the snap, turn and hand off — likely to junior Tyler Emans.
And it’s not like opposing coaches didn’t know it. They would routinely stack eight or nine players in the box. It simply didn’t matter. Emans simply ran over, around or past defenders on his way to a recordbreaking season.
In just nine games, Emans finished the season with school records for carries (160), rushing yards (1,367) and rushing touchdowns (24). For good measure, he returned two kicks for touchdowns and accounted for almost 60 percent of his teams points and total offense.
That is why he is the Osceola News-Gazette Offensive Player of the Year.
“He had the type of season we were really expecting,” Coach Don Simon said. “He is an incredibly tough kid who runs with power. One guy could seldom bring him down and it wasn’t unusual to see him drag two guys before going down. He had a great offensive line, so we were going to be a runoriented team anyways, but there’s no question he’s a special player.”
Emans rushed for 117 or more yards in eight games, averaged almost nine yards a carry and scored at least one touchdown in every game.
St. Cloud Coach Bryan Smart said Emans is among the best his team has ever faced.
“When he was a sophomore he had something like 100 yards on 14 carries against us and all I could think of is ‘Dang, we need to face this kid for two more years?’ He really is a special player,” Smart said. “This year we knew he was going to get the ball, we stuck nine guys near the line of scrimmage and he still got 180 yards and three touchdowns.”
All-County Offense: Quarterbacks: Chad Mascoe, OHS: 1,924 yards, 21 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 64 percent completions, 440 rushing yards, 4 TDs; Dylan Davis, CHS: 1,110 yards, 13 TDs, 8 INTs, 56 percent completions.
Running Backs: Oniel Senatus, CHS, News-Gazette’s Two-Way Player of the Year, 194 carries, 1,816 yards, 23 TDs, 31 receptions for 317 yards, 3 TDs; Ja’Randy Swint, OHS, 137-780-9. Formed a 1-2 Kowboy combo with freshman brother Taevion Swint, 85-612-12, 12 catches, 189 yards, 2 TDs; Cooper Richards, HHS, 532 yards, 7 TDs, 7 yards per carry as the thunder to Emans’ lightning.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: Isaiah Jean-Baptiste, Chris Combs and Ja’Keem Jackson, OHS: Combs, the only senior, averaged almost 19 yards per reception (21 catches for 384 yards, 4 TDs) … Jean-Baptiste was a threat both as a receiver and runner, catching 22 balls for 319 yards and 4 TDs, while averaging 6.8 yards per carry… Jackson led the team in receptions (36) and receiving yards (548) and scored 4 TDs; St. Cloud senior Jaden Morehead was a “swissarmy knife” type player, finished the season 656 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns and scored the winning touchdown in St. Cloud’s 31-30 upset of Harmony in the Soldier City Classic. Greg Vital, LHS: Caught 22 balls for 426 yards and 6 TDs as Chargers turned in a surprising 5-5 season; Chip McCuiston, CHS: led the county in receptions (44 for 490 yards and 3 TDs). Eli Azize, GHS: Sophomore caught 23 passes for 261 yards and two scores while leading the Panthers in all-purpose yards with 542.
Offensive Lineman: Harmony’s rushing success this season was led by a senior-dominated line, including Ty Amen, Caden Gayle, and Nathan Taylor, who opened the holes that allowed the Longhorns to rush for a school-record 2,008 yards in only nine games. Although Osceola had a young an experienced line, Cory Vega turned in an outstanding overall season after switching over from offense; while three-year starter Jamarion McCrimmon (6-5, 270) had another great year as Osceola averaged more than 377 yards of offense. Rounding it out is St. Cloud’s Mason Green, Celebration’s Logan Harrison and Gateway’s Omar Martinez.
“He is an incredibly tough kid who runs with power.”
— COACH DON SIMON
