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Hazleton Area senior running back Damon Horton wasn’t being recruited when the Wyoming Valley Conference football season began, something that perplexed Cougars coach Mike Brennan.

But with his strong performance in his final season, he made college programs take notice.

Horton was selected as the Times Leader Player of the Year in football after amassing 1,730 yards and 24 touchdowns from scrimmage as a threat as a runner and receiver. Those numbers include missing close to the equivalent of three games with a shoulder injury and turning in one of the best single-game performances in school history.

Among the college programs seeking Horton as either a running back or slot receiver are Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg, Maine, St. Francis, Slippery Rock and VMI.

The pinnacle of Horton’s season came Week 4 against Williamsport in a game labeled the battle of the backs. Horton was on one side and Williamsport’s Treyson Potts, who will play at Division I Minnesota, was on the other.

“Everyone was talking about the matchup of the two running backs,” Horton said. “I didn’t want it to get to my head. I just wanted to show them. My line did a good job and helped me do that.”

Potts turned in an outstanding game — 33 carries, 257 yards and four touchdowns — yet Horton trumped him with 32 carries for 299 yards and seven TDs.

“He carried us on his back that night, no question about it,” said Brennan, who has coached 17 years at three schools. “Other guys played well, but he was really, really good. I’ve never seen anything remotely close to that.”

Williamsport defeated Hazleton Area 64-63 in one of the highest-scoring games in WVC history. Two weeks later, the season for Horton and Potts changed dramatically.

Potts tore up his knee against Scranton, ending his year. Horton injured his shoulder against Delaware Valley in a game where he had rushed 13 times for 154 yards and a score before being sidelined. He missed the next game, a 28-21 loss to Berwick, and then gave it a try against Scranton, only to last four carries.

“It was really tough,” Horton said. “But there is nothing you can really do but to wait for the next week and get better.”

Horton did get better and finished the regular season with 1,135 rushing yards and 21 rushing TDs. He also caught 16 passes, showing his versatility.

Horton didn’t take over the feature back role until the Cougars were well into their 2017 campaign. Hazleton Area had back Adrian Otero, who ran for nearly 1,000 yards in 2016, and he was scheduled to be the main ball carrier. But Horton proved too good to keep of the field and Otero, who is now a linebacker at Maine, was lined up in the slot often. Horton led the team in 2017 with 623 rushing yards during the regular season. He also nabbed 22 receptions.

“For as good a player Adrian was, Adrian was also a very good receiver,” Brennan said. “So we sort of started working Adrian more on the perimeter of the offense and people had a hard time defending him on the edge. Damon was the smoother of the two running the football — his jump cuts, his vision, his power and his speed.

”He was a step or two faster than Adrian, so he moved to the top of the running back list and got the majority of the carries as the season went on last year.”

Hazleton Area senior running back Damon Horton was selected as the Times Leader Player of the Year.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_wil_haz3b_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgHazleton Area senior running back Damon Horton was selected as the Times Leader Player of the Year. Fred Adams file photo | For Times Leader
Horton reigns as Player of the Year

By John Erzar

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Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar