CHMS secures spot in championship with win
Published 3:00 am Friday, October 7, 2016
![Messenger Photo/mike hensley Elijah Caldwell runs the ball for Charles Henderson Middle School on Thursday night. Caldwell and the Trojans defeated Andalusia 28-8.](https://www.troymessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2016/10/DSC_9200-300x170.jpg)
Messenger Photo/mike hensley
Elijah Caldwell runs the ball for Charles Henderson Middle School on Thursday night. Caldwell and the Trojans defeated Andalusia 28-8.
The Charles Henderson Middle School Trojans locked up a slot in the championship game with a 28-8 win over Andalusia on Thursday.
The win gives the Trojans a perfect 7-0 record.
“They played unbelievable,” said Trojans head coach William Garner. “We didn’t have the best week of practice. They locked it in and got it done. This could have put a damper on what we were heading into next week. The intensity was really high tonight. They played really hard and really fast tonight.”
The win for Charles Henderson sends them to the championship game next Thursday when they will take on either Honeysuckle or Carver.
“It’s unbelievable,” Garner said. “Last year we went 7-1 and missed out on the championship game. It really puts a testament on how hard these guys worked this year to get to that spot. This is going to be a really big week for us, the school and the community.”
The Trojans did it with big plays on Thursday including a 50-yard pass play from Walker Stallworth to Javen Hill and a 64-yard pass play from Stallworth to John Sanders.
“The big play was huge,” Garner said. “The X factor was that we run the ball very well. Our offensive line is big and physical. When they stacked the bocks with eight men we were able to turn around and throw the ball.”
The Trojans got on the board when Elijah Caldwell rushed the ball into the end zone from five yards out to give the Trojans an early 6-0 lead.
Andalusia took the next possession and scored on a 60-yard run.
Early in the second quarter the Trojans took the lead when Stallworth connected with Hill from nearly 50 yards out to give the Trojans a 14-8.
Stallworth connected with Sanders with under a minute remaining to give the Trojans a 20-8 lead at the half.
The Trojans scored their final points on the night when Ja’Raye Blair scored on a 22-yard run with 4:55 remaining in the game.
The Trojans will fine tune their game in advance of next week’s championship.
“We need to clean up the penalties,” Garner said. “We had several holding penalties tonight. We need to work on lining up properly in new formations.”
Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Rip Hewes Stadium in Dothan.