CALEDONIA — Coaches typically don’t “warn” players about the challenges they will face if they change positions.
But that’s the word Caledonia High School football coach Andy Crotwell used when he spoke with Brandon Henry about moving him to running back for the 2014 season. Crotwell needed Henry on defense in 2013, so as much as he would have loved to have had Henry in the backfield to complement the running attack with quarterback Ben Marchbanks, he knew he needed Henry to solidify his defense.
With Marchbanks set to graduate, though, Crotwell realized moving Henry to running back likely was the best option for the Confederates for 2014, so he wanted to make sure Henry knew what he was getting into.
“In the limited amount of carries he had last year, I felt like he added a different dimension than some of the guys who carried it besides him,” Crotwell said. “I felt like he would be a natural fit for what we wanted to do. I approached him about that and I did kind of warn him that he needed to be in better shape than he had ever been in, and has certainly responded to that.”
Henry delivered his best effort of the season Friday to help Caledonia kick off Class 4A, Region 4 play in style. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder had 43 carries for a season-high 271 yards and three touchdowns to lead Caledonia to a 28-27 victory against Houston. His 40-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes, 24 seconds remaining provided the winning margin.
For his accomplishments, Henry is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“Every week I do set a goal for myself,” said Henry, a member of the National Honor Society. “I set an average yards I want to accomplish and average touchdowns I need to accomplish. If coach lets me know that I am going to run the ball, I really prepare myself because I know it is my opportunity to showcase my talent to colleges.
“I think I have done well so far for what the scouts have seen. I have been doing pretty good. I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be considering me for their team. I could do better, and a lot goes to the line as well. Our line is great.”
Through seven games, Henry is one of the state’s leaders in carries (185) and rushing yards (1,152). He also has 19 touchdowns (17 rushing), which isn’t bad considering he rushed for only 156 yards on 32 carries last season. But the Confederates relied on Marchbanks to run from the quarterback position in 2013. This season, Henry has been the workhorse at tailback behind an experienced offensive line that features Cody Cliett, Bobby Rushing, Tristan Nessell, Carrlon Byrd, and Daniel Cunningham. On Friday, offensive lineman Chase Pennington and H-Back Jantzen Glasgow served as lead blockers in the Power-I to help Henry have a career-best night.
“He has some athleticism. No doubt about it,” Crotwell said. “But he plays so hard every snap, whether it is in pass protection, or he is lead blocking, or running the football. He played a little bit of H-Back for us last year, and looking back at film, that was one of the things that stuck out to me was whenever he was a lead blocker or whenever he was in pass protection, he was the best one we had, and he attacked those aspects of the game eagerly, so I knew if a guy is willing to sell out for someone else, I knew we would get his very best effort no matter what we asked him to do.
“So many times you run into a tailback and their expectation is, ‘I run the football and that’s what I do, and I don’t really have to try very hard in pass protection, or whenever I am not getting the ball.’ That is not Brandon.
“That is one of the aspects (that makes him so special). You can go into how quick he is and shifty and people have a hard time hitting him flush because he moves so quick. He has a little bit of power to him as well. He does well in the weight room and that has transitioned (to the field), and he has a good burst of speed as well.”
Crotwell said Henry’s success hasn’t surprised him in part because he knew how excited the senior was to play running back. Henry offered a glimpse of what he could accomplish in the spring game against South Pontotoc, when he scored four touchdowns and rushed for more than 200 yards in a big victory.
On Friday, Crotwell said Henry is making the most of his opportunities, even if he is getting more of them than initial estimates. Crotwell joked Friday night that his first assessment of 25-35 carries a game might have been “an average” number of carries per game for Henry. He smiled after he said it because Henry has logged 38 and 43 carries the past two weeks.
“I am not surprised I am running the ball more,” Henry said. “It doesn’t really feel like it is that many carries in the game. I don’t get that tired. After the first two drives, I kind of get into the mood and it is pretty simple.”
Henry said he did a lot of running in the offseason to help prepare him for the season. He said he really pushed himself in the weeks prior to the first game to build his conditioning so he would be ready. The work has paid off, as have the efforts of the offensive linemen, which Henry praised for their strong performances.
“Me and the offensive line are really close,” Henry said. “I have been playing with Cody and Bobby since I was 6 years old, so we always have been close. … They understand their responsibilities and I understand mine. We both push for each other and work hard for each other. Most of them are seniors, except for Byrd, so we know what is on the line.”
Despite the heavy workload against Houston, Crotwell said Henry looked as fresh at the end of the game as he did on his first carry. It was fitting that Henry’s 40-yard run up the middle was his longest run of the evening.
Crotwell feels Henry is motivated by the desire to impress college coaches so he will be able to continue his career at the next level.
“I am sure it is in his mind. I am sure it is something he thinks about, but he is a consummate team player, and he is living in the here and now,” Crotwell said. “That is what his focus is, to help us be the best 2014 Caledonia football team that we can be, and he has fully bought into that. He is of a similar mind-set that I am. You take care of your business from day to day, from rep to rep and from week to week, and all of those other things will take care of themselves, including on down the line.”
Henry isn’t sure where he will wind up, or if he will attract the attention of a Division I or a junior college football coach. As much as the thought of playing football in college drives him, Henry said another thought means more to him: Getting the Confederates to the playoffs. Henry said his primary goal is to help Caledonia (4-3, 1-0 region) advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Caledonia will try to take the next step at 7 p.m. Friday when it travels to West Lauderdale. A victory in that game would help the Confederates equal the most wins they have had in a season since 2005. Henry isn’t sure how big of a workload he will get, but he will be ready. After all, Crotwell “warned” him how hard he was going to have to work and how much his team needed him to lead the way, so Henry knows he will have to be ready.
“Most of my motivation does come from (the desire to play football in college),” Henry said. “A lot of it also comes from wanting so bad to go to the playoffs. We have been wanting it for a while. I feel like I am a key player on our team and it requires my best to make it to the playoffs, so I just need to keep trying and doing my best.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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