CALEDONIA — Brandon Henry knows how far the Caledonia High School football program has traveled in the past two seasons.
As a freshman, Henry knew to get his example and his leadership from the team’s seniors, but it wasn’t what he and his classmates expected. That’s why Henry pledged things would be different when he was a senior and in position to help lead the program.
Henry and his classmates have served in their role so well that they have guided Caledonia back to the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Caledonia secured third place in Class 4A, Region 4 thanks to a 35-28 victory against Leake Central last week. The victory helped Caledonia finish the regular season at 6-5 and 3-2 in the region, and secured it a spot against Ripley (8-3) in the first round of the Class 4A North State playoffs at 7 tonight.
“I don’t really reflect on this program’s past because I can’t control it, and I ask the kids to do the same, not really worry about that stuff and worry about the opponent ahead of us,” Caledonia coach Andy Crotwell said. “If you spend a whole lot of time looking at the history of this program, it can swallow you up, so we haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to it. We’re not going to pay a whole lot of attention to it. We want to try and achieve our next goal, which is to make some noise in the playoffs.”
If you’re a sports fan, you will remember former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora’s famous comment, “Playoffs?” Mora’s response to a reporter’s question followed a 40-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 25, 2001. The Colts committed five turnovers in the loss, which prompted Mora to say in a high-pitched voice and with an incredulous tone, “Playoffs? Are you kidding me? I just hope we can win another game.” The Colts finished 6-10 and failed to make the playoffs.
Henry didn’t want his prep career to end without a trip to the playoffs, so he took the lessons he learned as an underclassman and made sure he played until the final whistle as hard as he could every game. As a result, the Confederates have adopted a mind-set in which they fight through the fourth quarter, which has paid off in come-from-behind victories against Leake Central at the end of last season and against West Lauderdale and Leake Central — just to name two — this season.
“I guess in (the fourth quarter) our desperate want to win increases and we want to play harder because we want it that much more,” Henry said. “Seeing we’re down means we have to have to try just that much harder, and I guess that is what pulls us through.”
Henry followed a plan against Leake Central that was similar to the one he and Caledonia used in a 28-27 victory against Houston earlier this season. Against Houston, Henry had 43 carries for 271 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes, 24 seconds that propelled the Confederates to the victory. Against Leake Central, Henry had 34 carries for 224 yards and four touchdowns to help Caledonia rally from a two-touchdown deficit.
Crotwell said Caledonia used a smash-mouth approach against Houston to combat the Hilltoppers’ speed on defense. Against Leake Central, Crotwell said Caledonia used its power running set to handle Leake Central’s size up front. He said everyone on offense was on the same page and was committed to using the ground game to pave a road to the playoffs.
In the preseason, Crotwell said the Confederates were going to rely on Henry to be their workhorse behind an experienced offensive line. He said he has tried to be honest with his players in attempt to build trust and faith in one another. He said that confidence can strengthen bonds and enable teams to accomplish things they might not be able to do if they don’t buy into that sense of teamwork.
“The seniors have taken the leadership and put us in this position,” Crotwell said. “They have refused to lay down, and (they) have pulled everybody along with them.”
Henry said the Leake Central game was merely another opportunity for the offensive linemen and his blockers to show their prowess.
“I really love running the ball,” Henry said. “When we did go to it, I just loved it. I didn’t see it as a workload I had to carry. I saw it more as an opportunity to get my team where we needed to be. I took it full force, and it is something I love to do.”
Henry said he has used must-win situations against Houston and West Lauderdale as motivation so he could help Caledonia realize its goal of advancing to the playoffs. He said he had a similar feeling against Leake Central and felt he really needed to get every yard he could to push his team forward.
The effort of Henry and his teammates is a testament to how far Caledonia has come in a short time. Crotwell said he felt the team was in position to reach the postseason last year only to finish 3-8 and tied with Houston and Leake Central at 1-4 in the region. Houston earned the fourth and final playoff spot thanks to its 13-0 win against Caledonia. This season, Crotwell credits his seniors for setting the tone for the squad and for laying the foundation for more playoff appearances in the immediate future.
Even though Henry won’t be a part of the next playoff runs, he hopes people will grow accustomed to hearing “Caledonia” and “playoffs” in the same sentence and won’t be surprised by the notion of the Confederates getting there, just as Mora was astonished by a reporter’s question asking if his team was going to reach the postseason.
“It sunk in once we won the game,” Henry said. “A lot of seniors have been waiting for this for four years, and we finally got to achieve our goal. I think it ended there after we figured out we finally made it and that we needed to keep moving and that we needed to focus on the next level and keep pushing and try to make it as far as we can.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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