Every four years it seems Harmony flag football coach Paul Strauch finds a freshman quarterback, who goes on to become a four-year starter. In return, that bit of fortune keeps the Longhorns’ program on top of the county and region.
Well history may be repeating itself again, as freshman Ivy Munns replaced 4-year Player of the Year Martha Edwards in 2026 and led the Longhorns to Orange Belt Conference, district, and regional championships in earning Osceola News-Gazette Flag Football Player of the Year honors.
The freshman was scary good this season, completing 68% of her passes and throwing for 5,000 yards and 76 touchdowns.
Harmony won a school record 19 games, losing only to Class 3A regional semifinalist East Bay in the regular season and to eventual 4A state champion Lennard in the Final Four.
“For a first-year starter, she was exceptional,” Coach Paul Strauch said. “For the most part, she made great decisions, was extremely accurate and throws a nice deep ball. But more impressively, she had a knack for throwing receivers open, something you don’t see a lot of, especially from a freshman. She would sometimes have an ill-advised throw that resulted in a pick, but that is something you expect from a young player. Overall, the numbers and results speak for themselves.”
“I don’t really believe our success was about me,” Munns said. “I was blessed to be able to play with some really exceptional football players. My teammates were awesome.”
Munns says she has always loved football, signing up for youth flag leagues as long as she can remember. “I just love playing the game, whether it was just playing catch with my brother or whatever, I just wanted to play.”
Munns admitted as Harmony went deeper into the playoffs, she was somewhat intimidated by the competition —something she says she has learned from.
“When we got to states, I was nervous and I don’t think I played very well against Lennard (a 39-19 loss),” she said. “But I also think it was a valuable learning experience.”
Overall, it was a great year for flag football in the county. In addition to Harmony going 19-2 and making the Final Four, Celebration was 13-5, reached regionals and played the Longhorns to the wire in a 26-20 overtime loss in the OBC championship game. Gateway went 14-4, won districts and made it to the 2A regional semifinals; while St. Cloud (12-2) also only lost twice but found itself in the same district as Celebration and Harmony.
For building his team into a district champion and leading the Panthers to their first regional win ever, Gateway’s Travis Hill is the pick for Coach of the Year.
All-County Flag Football
Player of the Year: Ivy Munns, Harmony, Fr.
Coach of the Year: Travis Hill, Gateway
Quarterbacks:
Munns (5,024 passing yards, 76 TDs, 68.4%); Isabel Meadows (Sr., Celebration, 68 passing TDs); Brynleigh Martin, (Fr., St. Cloud, 2,177 passing yards, 34 TDs, 346 rushing, 8 TD)
Two-Way Players:
Nayeli Rivera (Jr., Celebration, 14 TD catches, 5 INTs); Genesis Rodriquez (Jr., Celebration, 825 receiving yards, 17 TDs, 5 INTs); Ellah Husbands (Sr., Harmony, 1,126, 17 TDs, 6 INTs); Khloe Cook (Jr., Harmony, 900, 18 TDs, 6 INTs); Byrnn Lyles (Jr., Celebration, 70-677-10 TDs, 7 INTs); Jada Bloodworth (Jr., Harmony, 1,038-23, 8 INTs, 17 passes defended); YaYa D’Amore (Fr., Gateway, 11 INTs, 782-11 TD); Evana Rivera (Sr., Gateway, 49-1037-18 TDs, 7 INTs); Patricia Rodriguez (Jr., Gateway, 901-8 TD, 2,313 passing yards, 39 TD, 5 INTs)
Specialists:
Kaylie Conley, Center (Sr., Harmony, 96 receptions, 610 yards); Julissa Jerome, DB (Sr., Celebration, 9 INTs, 2 TDs, 35 passes defended); Brystol Williams, Rusher (Fr., Harmony, 18 sacks, 43 flag pulls); Sanaa Charles, DB (Sr., Tohopekaliga, 15 INTs, 4 TDs); Lenra Cambran, Rusher (Sr., Gateway, 39 sacks); Alicia Bassit, DB (Fr., St. Cloud, 12 INTs, 6 TDs)
