No rest for Charleston football All-State receiver and multi-sport athlete Emiliano Gaona 

There’s no rest for Charleston senior football player Emiliano Gaona – on the field and off. Gaona plays a variety of roles for the Tigers in all three phases of offense, defense and special teams.

He plays receiver on offense, safety on defense and runs back kickoffs and punts on the special teams side of things.

But Gaona is just as active when he’s not playing football. In fact, he plays three other sports at Charleston, competing on the school’s golf, basketball and track squads. Plus, he carries a 3.7 grade-point average. And with golf season also in the fall along with football, Gaona is really staying extra busy.

“I’m always playing some sport,” Gaona said. “You know golf season’s here, and I’ve been able to get in some tournaments here and there, being able to do some of that.”

On the football field, of the different positions Gaona plays, he likes playing receiver the best. Especially considering Gaona was an All-State receiver his junior season after catching 61 passes for 1,047 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“Scoring touchdowns are pretty fun,” he said. “Being a receiver is probably the most fun, but while I love defense too, offense would probably be my favorite.”

Also, for Gaona it helps that he is one of the beneficiaries of one of the area’s top quarterbacks in senior Carter Little. Little was an All-State selection last season as he threw for nearly 3,400 yards and 42 scores.

“It’s kind of easy with my quarterback; he’s amazing, and he’s always making a good throw, so I don’t really have to do much when he’s throwing to me, and then also the (offensive) line for him to make that pass happen. So it’s really just a combination of those things, and it’s just up to me to go out there and get it.”

Charleston turned in a perfect month of September, winning all four games and scoring at least 42 points in each one. Gaona caught TD passes in the Tigers’ early-season wins against Ozark and Heavener (Okla.).

“We’re working hard during the off-season, and then obviously during the season. … Our expectation is always to make it to the state championship and win conference and all that, and I think we’re doing a good job of that,” Gaona said.

“We have a bunch of younger guys coming up. They were freshmen, and now, they’re sophomores. They’re coming up and they’ll help us out pretty big.”

In Gaona’s freshman season, the Tigers won state, but he was more of an observer than as a player.

“I was a helper that year,” Gaona said. “I got to go to all the games and just experience what it was like for that group, for those group of guys, and my brother (Sebastian, who like Emiliano also saw action at receiver and defensive back) played on that team.”

Now, Gaona gets to live a childhood dream of suiting up in the black and gold of the Tigers.

“I grew up in Charleston my whole life,” he said. “I got to grow up watching (former Tiger standout quarterback Ty Storey) play. You know, I went to the state championship game when they were in there. So, yeah, I’ve been watching those group of guys for a long time.

“Every year, you know, our expectation is to make it to the state finals. So playing for Charleston is something that anyone or everyone looks forward to, and it’s amazing just to play in this town, because, it’s how we’re always supposed to win, and it’s just fun playing for this team.”

And with the start the Tigers have had to Gaona’s senior year, it’s possible he could be a part of another championship run – this time with him perhaps playing an active role.

“We’re just showing up every day with good effort and intensity,” Gaona said. “And just like in the weight room, we can’t take any days off, because we have a really tough conference.”