Harmony left little doubt they were the top girls flag football team in the county in 2022, going 15-3 overall and 7-0 in Orange Belt Conference play. That’s why the Longhorns dominate the All-County team for the recently completed season.
Counting playoffs, they were 9-0 against county competition, outscoring opponents 194-19. They defeated rival St. Cloud, 26-0, during the regular season and 14-7 in the district playoffs.
Drea Thompson and Martha Edwards headline a list of six Longhorn players named to the All-County team. Thompson, who was selected Orange Belt Conference Player of the Year, is the Osceola News-Gazette Defensive Player of the Year; while Edwards is the Osceola News-Gazette Offensive Player of the Year.
They are joined on the squad by teammates Arianna Ross, Francheska Moreno, Aubrie White and Kinzie Jones.
Gateway, 8-8, placed three players on the team with Melina Trinidad, Brianna Joseph, and Karli Cole. St. Cloud, who finished the season with a 9-7 record, place two on the All-ONG team including Alexis Santiago and Morgan Beaulieu.
The all-star team is rounded out by Ivanis Pimental (Poinciana), Lena Bolejack (Celebration) and Angeline Beecher (Liberty).
“I think it is fitting to go with an offensive and defensive player of the year, instead of a single MVP,” Harmony coach Paul Strauch said. “Only 12 points separated them in the OBC Player of the Year voting and frankly it would be hard for me to differentiate the value both brought to our team.”
Thompson, a junior, was a standout on defense — leading the Longhorns with 10 interceptions. She was dominating on a defense that allowed 4.5 points per game. She was also a threat on offense, catching 40 passes and scoring 11 touchdowns. Edwards, a left-handed freshman, threw for 27 touchdowns and rushed for seven others. She earned first team All-OBC honors and was also named to the All-Area team. Ross was an outstanding rusher on the Longhorns team. She had 33 pulls (tackles) behind the line of scrimmage and 58 total pulls.
“The success we had on defense starts with the pressure Adrianna put on the opposing quarterback. When she wasn’t getting sacks, she was interrupting the opponent’s timing and making her throw on the run.”
Moreno led the team in catches with 76, White led the Longhorns in pulls (59); while James was second in both receptions (54) and touchdown receptions (7).
Santiago was highly considered for OBC Player of the Year honors, finishing third in the coaches voting. She scored 12 touchdowns on the year and had a county-high 25 interceptions. Beaulieu, an all-state golfer, also had a big season for the Bulldogs with six touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The Longhorns dominance in the county could continue for a few years, as five of their six selections to the All-ONG team are underclassmen; with Edwards and James having three years of eligibility left and Ross and Moreno having two more seasons.
The Future is coming soon
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
