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The Charles Henderson Trojans (2-3, 2-1) are back at home this Friday, Oct. 4, in a Class 5A, Region 2 game against the Andalusia Bulldogs (3-3, 2-0) on Homecoming.

Charles Henderson is coming off a frustrating 29-0 non-region loss to Class 6A Benjamin Russell last week.

“Offensively, in the first quarter – and really the first half – we were moving the ball but had a couple of key drops and miscues on the offensive line that held us out of the end zone,” CHHS Coach Quinn Hambrite said. “That held us out of the end zone for the whole game really, but especially in that first half. I thought we played very good defensively and we had some freshmen playing on special teams that led to some miscues. Special teams is all about heart and effort and wanting to be out there. We have to really clean that up and that’s on me and that’s something I need to push in practice this week.”

The Trojans were shorthanded against Benjamin Russell after dealing with some injuries along with a number of players that were left in Troy after missing practice during the week.
“We left quite a few at home,” Hambrite said. “That’s not something we usually have to deal with but those players didn’t travel with us. We’re still not healthy either. This week we hope we can get all of our guys back and get back on the winning track.”

Things won’t get any easier, however, as Andalusia is coming off a 28-27 win over Beauregard this past week. Andalusia also holds wins over Headland and Greenville in region play. The Bulldogs and Catholic Montgomery are the only teams that are undefeated in the region this season.

“Andalusia is a tough team,” Hambrite flatly said. “They’re good up front and well coached and they have athletes to make things happen. We have to be sound offensively and execute. That was the deciding factor in the last two games, execution.

“Missing one block here or dropping a ball here or having a fumble here are key. Miscues across the board are things we can’t have in a big region game like this. It’s going to be a battle.”

Charles Henderson is 37-39-4 all-time against Andalusia in a series that dates back to the 1920s. That series has seen a break in play a few times in the past 20 years, however. Charles Henderson and Andalusia played annually between 1944 and 2003 but after the 2003 game, didn’t meet in the regular season again until 2020. The two sides played in 2020 and 2021 – both Andalusia wins – but didn’t play in 2022 or 2023.

“I want to see heart, effort and discipline, that’s the biggest thing,” Hambrite emphasized. “We have to do the right things and do the little things all the time. I tell the kids all the time you can build a mountain of doing all the things you do right.

“Contrary to that, you can build a mountain out of all the bad things you do. We have to do a lot of little things correct during practice this week, those small things that we sometimes don’t think mater. If we do those things correctly then we give ourselves a chance to win.”
Charles Henderson will host Andalusia at 7 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 4.