The 24-hour period that preceded Western Albemarle sophomore quarterback Kent Henry’s first snap Friday night was a roller coaster ride. After getting the starting nod, Henry was nervous. Really nervous.
“I was so nervous,” Henry said. “But last night (former Western quarterback) Stephen Schuler talked to me alone for about 20 minutes and he talked me down off my nervous peak.”
Schuler should know how Henry, who started for Western as a safety in 2010, feels. Schuler also got the starting nod as a sophomore before going on to because 2009’s first team All-Scrimmage Play quarterback. So the talk, predictably, helped.
Then during warm-ups before the Warriors’ tilt with Albemarle, Henry couldn’t settle down again, missing target after target as the offense tried to find a rhythm. The sophomore went to head coach Ed Pierce and explained how nervous he was.
“I called one more pass play just hoping he’d throw that pretty well and he did so I said, ‘well, we’ll end on that one,” said Western coach Ed Pierce.
Pierce’s decision and Henry’s legs and arm served them both well. Henry put together one a thrilling debut with 134 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, another 123 through the air and an overtime two-point conversion by the nose of the football that vaulted Western Albemarle to a 22-21 victory over its cross-county rival.
Albemarle was left heartbroken, with at least some convinced Henry’s final plunge came up short, but the Patriots had wasted a number of opportunities with big plays called back on penalties in the first half.
“I think our kids thought all of the sudden that it may be too easy or they just felt down,” said Albemarle coach Mike Alley. “And you could definitely tell it in the first half that our kids weren’t going 100 percent after that.”
Albemarle struck first, scoring on a five-yard touchdown toss from Lee Carneal to Timmy Aker that gave the Patriots a 6-0 lead. Western bounced back though a few minutes later as Henry settled in. Henry found Isaiah Cowan for a 38-yard gain, then broke off a 20-yard run of his own to set the table for two straight Tanner Knight carries for seven and 10 yards, the second going for a touchdown.
Knight finished with 71 yards on the ground and another 29 receiving while Cowan had three catches for 70 yards on the night.
After Knight’s score and an Albemarle punt that didn’t give the Patriots much breathing room, Western drove 35 yards in seven plays. Henry capped the drive, going up the middle, stumbling, spinning and bowling his way into the endzone on fourth and one from the 10-yardline. The touchdown gave Western a 14-6 halftime lead.
Henry piled up the bulk of his yards driving straight up the middle on the Warriors’ base zone read play, following returning second team All-Jefferson District center Zac Robb on a number of those plays. Robb was an ironman for the Warriors. Missing just one play during the entire contest, when an official ordered him to the sideline because he vomited several times on the turf near the Western huddle. Robb was trying to rehydrate and his water intake create a different problem.
“It was kind of an ‘oh crap’ moment ,” Robb said. “I just tried to dig deep and keep going. After the first time it’ll subside.”
After the break, Albemarle wasted little time evening the score, ripping off a quick eight-play, 80-yard drive. Niko Troche’s 46-yard jaunt highlighted the seemingly frantic push to the endzone and Larkeem Jackson’s three-yard burst finished off the march. Junior Dashon Tibbs stepped in for Carneal at quarterback on the two-point conversion and found Joe Anderson for the equalizing two points.
Troche logged 105 yards on just 12 carries, all in the second half.
After Jackson’s score, the two teams got locked in a stalemate, with a missed field goal, a turnover on downs and a pair of punts ending the next four drives. Western seemed poised to end it in regulation, but a missed field goal all but put the game in overtime as Albemarle failed to move the ball with just 32.8 seconds left at the start of its drive.
Albemarle took possession first in extra time and on third and goal from the six Carneal hit Kevin Gaines for a touchdown with Anderson adding the extra point.
That set the stage for Henry’s heroics. On fourth down he dropped the snap, then reversed field and picked up a couple of blocks that helped spring him to the outside pylon for the touchdown. Teammate Austin Ellis had a clear angle on the ensuing two-point conversion.
“I knew it was in, I saw the nose of the ball before his knee hit, I got a perfect angle and the referee on the opposite side was saying ‘no touchdown’ and I turned around to the ref on my side because I knew he had to see it and he put his hands up immediately,” Ellis said. “I just went over to Kent and just dove on him. It was crazy.”
It was for everyone. It was just a little crazier for Henry and the Warriors.
