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MAYFLOWER EAGLES
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018
| RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
New coach, returning starters signal success for Mayflower
Mayflower senior Tayshun Mattison, right, catches a ball in front of teammate junior Jason Uptain.
PHOTOS BY CODY GRAVES/RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION
BY TAMMY KEITH
SENIOR WRITER
New Mayflower Eagles coach Austin Emerson said the pressure’s on this season.
Mayflower was 10-0 in the reg- ular season in 2017 and won the Class 3A-2
Conference title.
“They won the conference last year, and
they’re returning a lot of kids,” Emerson said. “The pressure’s on me because we’re returning a lot of seniors.”
Emerson came to Mayflower after coach Todd Langrell went to lead the Vilonia Eagles. Emerson was offensive line coach for the Hendrix College football team in Conway last year. Before that, he was offensive coach in Morrilton from 2013-2015 and at Camden Fairview in 2016.
The 29-year-old Oklahoma native played guard and center for the University of Central Arkansas Bears.
“Careerwise, it’s always been a goal of mine to become a head coach. We love central Arkansas, and we love Conway. All our friends are here,” he said.
“We” are Emerson and his wife, Terra, and their three children, ages 4 years, 2 years and 5 months.
“We’re hoping to stay in Mayflower a long time,” he said.
His team includes returning starters in the Spread offense, identical twins and seniors Keon and Deon Simmons. “They’re pretty special kids,” he said. Keon is a slot receiver; Deon is a running back.
Keon is listed at 5-5 and 158 pounds; Deon is listed at 5-6, 155 pounds.
In January, Deon was named the River Valley & Ozark Edition Offensive Player of the Year. He rushed for 2,562 yards and scored 43 touchdowns — 40 rushing, 3 receiving — for the Eagles in 2017. His former coach said Deon would have had more touchdowns had it not been for the mercy rule. Keon Simmons rushed for 876 yards and 17 touchdowns.
This year, Deon and Keon are the edition’s Players to Watch.
In an interview for the River Valley & Ozark Edition High School Preview, the coach said the brothers play with heart.
Mayflower senior quarterback Dalton Muse eyes a receiver during fall camp.
MAYFLOWER EAGLES
AUG. 31 ........ CENTRAL ARKANSAS CHRISTIAN SEPT. 7 ..................................... @MARSHALL SEPT. 14 ............................ PARKERS CHAPEL SEPT. 21 ...................................... DANVILLE* SEPT. 28 ................................ @GLEN ROSE* OCT. 5 ......................................TWO RIVERS* OCT. 12 ...............................@BAPTIST PREP* OCT. 19 .........................................@ATKINS* OCT. 26 .................................... PERRYVILLE* NOV. 2 ................................... @JESSIEVILLE*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
“They compete either with each other or with other people every day,” Emerson said. “Usually, it’s with each other because their athletic ability stands out so much from oth- er people. They get after it every single day, and it’s awesome to coach guys like that. They are role models for the younger guys.”
In an interview with the River Valley & Ozark Edition in January, Keon said he and his brother started tossing a football back and forth when they were 2 years old.
“We were just born to play football,” Keon said.
Deon said his goal for this season is to stay the No. 1 running back in Arkansas.
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