STARKVILLE — Charlie Henderson fits in nicely for an outcast.
The Starkville High School senior really isn’t that different from his teammates on the school’s boys soccer team. The difference that sets Henderson apart from most of the other Yellow Jackets is his lack of club soccer experience. While many of the Starkville High players have spent many years together on travel teams building their chemistry, Henderson has been relatively new to the party.
In fact, Starkville High coach Brian Bennett only recently moved the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder from defender to forward in an attempt to incorporate D’antae Bush into the backline.
For a newcomer, Henderson showed Saturday he can make an impact, scoring two goals to lead Starkville to a 5-1 victory against New Hope.
“I know them all, and I have played with them enough outside of their Select team and on the high school team that I have kind of figured them out,” Henderson said. “They’re just really smooth. As long as you just keep the smooth passes and make runs, they are great to work with.”
Henderson proved tough to handle through the middle by making hard-charging runs that put New Hope’s defense under constant pressure. Henderson’s size makes him one of the team’s biggest players and one of its best to help win 50-50 balls in the air. He said it hasn’t been a difficult transition from defender to forward because his teammates keep the ball moving and play it to space to allow forwards like he and Michael Godley, who had the third goal, to create opportunities.
“(The chemistry and that continuity) is just natural, and that is what happens when you play together,” Henderson said. “It just happened to them, and they have been doing good of the past few years.”
Henderson said “power and strength” are two ingredients he adds to the mix. He also said he can “fit in decent” with the team’s “flow.” Godley, who also plays goalkeeper for the Yellow Jackets, has assisted Henderson in the transition from defense to forward. They showed their ability to work together on the first goal, as Godley’s pass from the right found Henderson in the middle. All Henderson had to do was to slot the shot into the lower left corner for the 1-0 lead.
Starkville made it 2-0 when it capitalized on New Hope’s inability to clear the ball. Alex Ross’ cross from the left endline into the center of the box found Henderson, who headed it home off goalkeeper Wells Davis.
Starkville High coach Brian Bennett credits Henderson for making the switch. He said Henderson had an impressive first showing up top in matches against Newton County, West Lauderdale, and St. Andrews Episcopal and has given his team added depth at forward and on defense.
“We have been moving people around until we find somewhere they are comfortable,” Bennett said. “I think it helps because the other team can’t lock into something and we can give them another look.”
Bennett said Henderson is coming off a hip surgery in the offseason, so he wanted to take it easy on Henderson at the start of the season. He said the emergence of Bush has made it easier for him to experiment with different rosters. He feels Bush defends well and is a weapon coming out of the back because he can distribute and stay calm on the ball.
But the addition of Henderson up top provides a physical presence that could serve the Yellow Jackets well as they move deeper into the season. Last season, Oxford used a physical style of play to beat Starkville in the North State title game. Bennett said his team didn’t respond to that brand of soccer and prefers to play a possession game that showcases its skill and ability to move the ball.
With Henderson, Starkville has someone who isn’t afraid to mix it up and to win 50-50 balls in the air and in space that keep attacks going.
“They like adding somebody like him who has a physical presence ,” Bennett said. “That is probably the weakness on the team they play together on, size. Charlie probably should have scored about three goals off throw-ins off headers using his size to get in position. He was close.”
Starkville also scored on an own goal and a goal by Vance Dewberry in the second half.
Roger Shilling converted a penalty kick for New Hope (4-4-1).
“We played OK. We can do better,” New Hope assistant coach Will Taylor said. “We are an inexperienced team. We’re young in some areas, and when you play quality teams like a Starkville, they exploit those inexperienced areas. We’re just in a process to get better.”
Taylor and the coaches preached to the players in the first half not to lunge at the ball and to try to protect an area. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets made that difficult to do by moving the ball and possessing it for most of the match. Taylor said the team struggled with that Saturday and relied on Davis to anchor the defense. He had two of his best saves in the second half, denying Caleb Gwaltney and then stopping Rylan Moore on a penalty kick.
“Wells is a strong point for our team,” Taylor said. “He does a good job back there and he has improved. This is really only his second year playing soccer. He has improved a lot each year. We count on him to make saves. We need him to make saves because we are so young and inexperienced back there.”
n On Friday, New Hope lost to Neshoba Central 4-3 in a Class 5A, Region 3 game. Shilling, Andre Campos, and Andreas Skagvold had goals for the Trojans.
In other action, Starkville beat Columbus 4-0. Michael Godley had two goals, and Christian Kingery and Ben Mackin each had one for the Yellow Jackets in the Class 6A, Region 3 game. Starkville will play host to Madison Central on Tuesday. Madison Central beat Starkville 3-0 on Dec. 12.
New Hope will play Friday at Germantown.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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