CALEDONIA — Brandon Henry doesn’t shy away from hard work.
One week after getting 38 carries in a last-second loss to Choctaw County, Henry knew he would get a similar work load Friday night against Houston in the Class 4A, Region 4 opener for both teams.
You could almost hear Henry do his best Herschel Walker impersonation and say, “That’s OK. The ball ain’t heavy.” That’s what Walker, the former Georgia great and Heisman Trophy winner, would say when asked how he handled such a busy day’s work.
Like Walker, Henry appeared unfazed by the fact everyone in Caledonia knew he was going to get the football. And like Walker, Henry used his 5-foot-11, 185-pound frame to dance, to run through, and to trample over the Hilltoppers in an effort that wouldn’t be denied.
Henry’s 40-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes, 24 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter was part of a 43-carry, 271-yard effort that propelled Caledonia to a 28-27 victory against Houston.
“It was a blessing,” Henry said. “My fullback Chase (Pennington) got the last block and I saw it open. The only thing on my mind was, ‘Run fast. Don’t get caught. Get in the end zone.’ ”
The victory helped Caledonia (4-3, 1-0 region) win its region opener for the first time since 2010. It also helped coach Andy Crotwell’s Confederates eclipse their win total (three) from last season. The four wins is the most Caledonia has had since it went 5-5 in 2005, the last year the program advanced to the playoffs.
That fact wasn’t lost on Henry, a senior, who mentioned the postseason as a goal he and his classmates were targeting in their final season. A victory against Houston (3-4, 0-1), which had defeated Caledonia the past three seasons in a row by an average of 24 points, was a great way to start.
“He (Crotwell) told us we were going to run it down their throats because that was the best option,” Henry said. “I was ready. I have been waiting for this for a long time. It has been three years I have been waiting to go to the playoffs, so I was kind of happy he was going to let me do it. I felt like I had the ability and the talent that God gave me and I felt like I could do it.”
Henry was a workhorse behind an offensive line that featured Bobby Rushing, Cody Cliett, Tristan Nessell, Carrlon Byrd, and Daniel Cunningham and tight end Ian Hartmann. The Confederates opened the game with a size advantage up front. They used that size to overload the left side with Byrd and Cunningham, and also used their mobility to pull guards to serve as the clearing party for Henry. The strategy worked early, as Henry notched the Confederates first score on a 5-yard run. But the Hilltoppers adjusted and used their speed to get penetration, especially in the second quarter when they dropped Henry for two of their four tackles for loss.
“We moved the ball pretty easy (early in the game), and I think everybody got satisfied with that,” Cliett said. “They thought we were going to be able to do that every drive and then guys started getting complacent.”
Spurred on by the encouragement of line coach Jason Forrester, who yelled “finish” to his charges, Caledonia adjusted by moving lineman Pennington and fullback Jantzen Glasgow into the backfield in front of Henry in a Power-I formation. The scheme left little doubt about what the Confederates were going to do. Still, Henry responded every time he touched the ball. He scored on a 10-yard in the third quarter to give Caledonia a 14-13 lead with 7:17 to go in the quarter. He then had eight carries for 53 yards on the next drive to set up Spencer Unruh’s 20-yard fade to the left corner to Cole Gullette. James Longmire’s kick gave Caledonia a 21-13 lead with 1:15 to go in the quarter.
“It helped a lot,” Henry said of the move to go with the double lead block. “They could not adjust to it. The hole was always there. All I had to do was juke one person and it was over. Coach Crotwell called it right.”
But Caledonia still had work to do. The Hilltoppers, who capitalized on two fumbles that led to their first two scores, used a 15-play drive, aided by a completed pass on third-and-9 from the Caledonia 14-yard line, a pass interference penalty, and two more Caledonia penalties to tie the game on a 2-yard run by Brandon Townsend (13 carries, 113 yards) and a two-point conversion run by Townsend.
Houston maintained momentum by holding Caledonia to three-and-out on the next series. The Hilltoppers needed only five plays to take the lead, this time on a 9-yard run by Townsend, but the extra point failed with 4:36 remaining.
The score left Caledonia enough time to balance its offense between the run and the pass. Henry, though, didn’t leave anything to chance. He rushed for 13, 8, and 6 yards before ripping off the game-winning run with a burst up the middle.
Henry’s performance gives him 185 carries for 1,152 yards and 19 total touchdowns (17 rushing) this season. His carries and rushing total rank among the state’s best. Last season, Henry was a secondary option behind quarterback Ben Marchbanks and had only 32 carries for 156 yards and zero touchdowns. This season, he is making his mark as a go-to back who isn’t shying away from hearing his name called over and over and over … especially with the game on the line.
“I didn’t feel that pressure,” Henry said of the final drive. “I was kind of getting down … but I never lost faith. I knew God could get us through it, and He did.
“The (offensive line) did great. They were perfect. I couldn’t thank them enough. They blocked their hearts out. They drove down the field. They never gave up. Even when they were tired, they kept pushing through it. I can’t thank them enough.”
Crotwell credited his players for responding to the game plan suited for an opponent with great team speed. He said the game plan was to go toe to toe with the Hilltoppers and “to wash” them down at the line of scrimmage and let Henry take advantage. He believed Henry would have the strength and focus to deliver, as evidenced by the fact that the senior workhorse was just as strong at the end as he was at the beginning of the game.
“They are a unique team,” Crotwell said. “We had to get away with what we are comfortable doing and what we are accustomed to doing and lean more on the offensive line because they are so good in the secondary and so fast up front.
“I had no doubt Brandon was going to be up to the task. He is our bell cow. He has to touch the ball a bunch. I said at the beginning of the season that he had to touch the ball 25-30 times. I meant that as an average, not as a hard cap. He likes it. He never asked to come out. This is his senior year and he has one shot to make it happen, and he is taking advantage of it. … He is doing an outstanding job, and the offensive line is doing a great job. They are vastly improved from three or four weeks ago. They are playing so much better together.”
n On a related note, former Caledonia High School baseball players, bat girls, their friends, and their families are invited to attend a get-together at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 18 at the Caledonia High gymnasium. The event will be a part of Caledonia Day. The gathering will be used to celebrate the success of the baseball program from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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