Page 23 - Demo

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RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FOOTBALL PREVIEW |
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2018
23VV
MAYFLOWER EAGLES MAYFLOWER continued from 22VV
“I want to talk state; I want to have an undefeated season,” he said.
Also returning to the field are seniors Jor- dan Teas, starting left tackle; Riley Naylor, starting left guard; Josh Sellers, right guard; Kendrick McCuien, right tackle; and Dylan Burnett, tight end. The team will be led by se- nior quarterback Dalton Muse, who also plays for the Mayflower baseball team.
Starting on the 3-4 defense will be Teas, Naylor, Burnett, Keon and Deon Simmons, senior Tyler Kirkpatrick, defensive end; and Sellers, linebacker.
“A lot of our guys had a lot of playing time; they just weren’t full-time starters,” the coach said.
The team is strong in its skill positions, he said, but lacks depth.
Emerson said all the 3A-2 teams will be challenges — Atkins, Danville, Glen Rose, Perryville and Jessieville. “The whole conference is kind of new; there are a lot of new teams in there.”
The coach said he has high hopes for the 2018 conference season.
“Ours is the same as everybody else — we all want to win it. You feel good about it. ... If we can stay healthy all year, we’re going to have a pretty good season,” he said.
Mayflower Athletic Director Brent
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CODY GRAVES/RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION
New Mayflower football coach Austin Emerson talks to his team during fall camp. Emerson inherited a team that went undefeated in the regular season in 2017.
If we can
stay healthy
all year,
we’re going
to have a
pretty good
season.”
AUSTIN EMERSON
MAYFLOWER HEAD COACH
Stallings said he has confidence in Emerson. “We think we’ve got a good one. He’s been working hard, and the kids seem to be responding to him tremendously,”
Stallings said.
“He’s young, but ..., it kind of sounds
strange to say he’s got a lot of experience for his youth, but he does have. He’s been at Morrilton and Camden Fairview and Hendrix,” Stallings said.
“I know we’ve got a good [coach]. We’re re- ally excited. We think we’ve got another season that will be comparable to last year or even bet-
ter,” he said, echoing Emerson’s comment about staying healthy. “Most of the pieces are there.” Emerson said his goal, obviously, is to win
ballgames.
“I want to get the best 11 on the field at all
times, if I can,” Emerson said. However, he said it’s more important to build character. “On a personal basis, outside of X’s and O’s, [my goal is] to have a positive impact on their lives. They may not know all that [X’s and O’s] years later ... but I want them to know Coach Emerson and his staff, the way they did things — I want to live my life like that.”
SIMMONS continued from 21VV
“Coach Langrell is like our best friend,” Deon said. “It was kind of hard when he left. We deal with it. Coach Emerson came in and told us everything that he is going to do. He told us how everything was going to go with football. We like him a lot.”
“He spoke to us about how he is and how he likes things,” Keon said of Emerson. “He’s a pretty cool coach.”
Emerson said the twins should be unstoppable this season.
“Getting the ball in either one of their hands is trouble for a defense,” he said. “Who is going to stop them? It’s got to be two or three guys getting to them. They’ve got 4.5 speed, and it’s hard to get guys to them when they are that fast.”
The Simmons twins are being recruited by several NCAA Division II schools. They both said they have offers from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville and Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.
Mayflower seniors and twin brothers Deon, left, and Keon Simmons want to make a run at winning the Class 3A state championship this season.
MARK BUFFALO/RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION