Osceola places 14 on News-Gazette’s All County Football Team

The Osceola Kowboys, who rode a late-season run all the way to the Class 8A State Championship Football game, led all Osceola schools with 14 selections to the Osceola News-Gazette’s (OGN) All-County Football team.

The 33-member team was selected with input from coaches, the media and veteran observers of high school football.

Leading the Kowboys on defense was the OGN Defensive Player of the Year Derrick LeBlanc. The 6-5, 245-pound sophomore finished the season with 49 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss and eight quarterback sacks. One of the most highly rated underclassmen in the nation, LeBlanc has already received scholarship offers from numerous division one programs, including Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Michigan, Penn State, Miami and Texas A&M, to name a few. LeBlanc edged out fellow sophomore and teammate John Walker (37-28-65, 14 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback sacks) for the honor.

The OGN Offensive Co-Players of the Year are St. Cloud quarterback Garhett King and Osceola quarterback Chad Mascoe. King completed 65 percent of his passes for 1500 yards and 11 touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to a 6-2 record. Mascoe was 61 percent on the season for 1438 yards, 12 touchdowns and just four interceptions.  “With only six regular season games, with two early season blowouts, he really didn’t have an opportunity to pile up stats,” Head Coach Doug Nichols said.  “But he was highly efficient all year in taking care of the football and played a major role in getting us to a state championship game.”

Osceola senior kicker/punter Spencer Richards is the OGN Special Teams Player of the Year. Richards hit on 40 of 41 extra points, all five of his field goal attempts and averaged nearly 40 yards per punt in 2020. The ONG Return Specialist of the Year is Poinciana senior Jalen Jacobs, who averaged 35.6 yards on kickoff returns and 39.4 yards on punt returns this season; gaining 992 yards on returns overall.

 The OGN Offensive Newcomer of the Year is St. Cloud wide receiver Jack Rilling. A transfer from Wisconsin, Rilling caught 48 passes for 720 yards and four touchdowns. The OGN Defensive Newcomer of the Year is Osceola’s Bo Mascoe. The sophomore earned a starting position in his first year in the Kowboys’ program – breaking up nine passes and recording a pair of interceptions.

Harmony running back Tyler Emmons is the OGN Rising Star. After rushing for more than 400 yards as a freshman, Emmons had a huge sophomore campaign, rushing for 828 yards and 13 touchdowns, while catching five passes for 84 yards and four more scores. Emmons edges out Celebration sophomore O’Neil Senatus for the honor.  Senatus rushed 99 times for 486 yards and caught 14 passes for 229 yards in just seven games for the Storm.

“Tyler Emmons leads a group of extremely talented sophomores who played a lot of football for us this past fall,” Harmony Head Coach Don Simon said. “Tyler had a great year but he also has an incredible work ethic and works hard to get better every year.”

 Gateway standout Jakovi Bryant is the OGN Two-Way Player of the Year.  Limited to just six games because of an early season injury, Bryant rushed for 800 yards and 17 touchdowns, caught 15 passes for 271 yards and another score, played on special team and was a defensive back for the Panthers, where he eight tackles and a pass defense. 

In addition to Osceola’s 14 players named to the paper’s All-County Team, St. Cloud had six players named with Harmony having five nods.

The Osceola News Gazette’s All-County Team

Quarterbacks (2)

Garhett King, Jr. (SC), Chad Mascoe, Sr. (OSC)

 Running Backs (5)

JaRandy Swint, Jr. (OSC), Tyler Emans, So. (H), Patrick Forsythe, Sr. (SC), Jakovi Bryant, Sr. (GAT), O’Neil Senatus, So. (CEL)

 Wide Receiver (4)

Isaiah Jean Baptiste, So. (OSC), Jack Rilling, Sr. (SC), Massimo Rubera, Sr. (OSC), Anthony Gonzalez, Sr. (SC)

 Offensive Lineman (6)

Cody Carter, Sr. (OSC), Xavier Castillo, Sr. (OSC), Daniel Castillas, Sr. (TOHO), Eric Gonzales, Sr. (CEL), Kristian Zommer, Sr.(SC), Micah Reynolds, Sr.  (LIB)

 KO/Punt Returns

Jalen Jarrett, Sr. (POIN)

 Defensive Lineman (6)

John Walker, So. (OSC), Derrick LeBlanc, So. (OSC), Kamond Manning, Sr. (OSC), Michael Marino, Sr. (HAR), Carlos Richard, Sr. (TOHO), Emil Monell , Sr.(GAT).

 Linebackers (6)

Lamont Lee (OSC), Jr., Nolin Eaddy, Sr. (OSC), Azariah Williams, Sr.(SC), Jaun Gomez, Sr. (H), Elby Tieku. Sr. (GAT), DiMario Tolan, Jr. (TOHO).

 Defensive Backs (5)

Jeremiah Wilson, Jr. (OSC), Bo Mascoe, So. (OSC), Jason Moss, Sr. (H), Andrew Arias, Sr. (CEL), Brayden Adams, So. (HAR)

 Kicker/Punter

Spencer Richards, Sr. (OSC)

Photo Caption:  St. Cloud quarterback Garhett King (left) and Osceola Running Back JaRandy Swint(right) are both members of the 2021 Osceola News Gazette’s All County Football Team (Photos courtesy St. Cloud High School and Jana Stultz)