Charles Henderson’s Hunter Kennedy takes part in Max Emfinger All-American Bowl

A week after the state title game, Hunter Kennedy got a phone call that made him smile.

On the other end of the line was his offensive coordinator Rodney Jordan, and he made Kennedy an offer he couldn’t refuse.

When Kennedy, a senior offensive tackle for the Charles Henderson Trojans, walked off the playing surface at Bryan-Denny Stadium following a 28-10 loss to Oneonta in the AHSAA 4A Championship Game he figured his high school football career was over.

And it was, until Elba head coach Ed Rigby got in touch with Jordan and Kennedy.

Rigby informed Kennedy he had an open slot for an offensive lineman on his team for the Max Emfinger All-American Bowl.

Kennedy’s East team dominated the West 30-0.

The experience allowed Kennedy to mix it up with some of the finer senior football players in the Southeast.

It also gave Kennedy a chance to show he has what it takes to play on the interior of the offensive line.

“I got play and practice against some really good competition,” Kennedy said. “The change to guard was pretty natural for me. The biggest difference for me was learning to operate in the smaller space on pass sets. You can’t give up as much ground, but outside of that, it wasn’t much different.

Kennedy’s team, the East, went full pads in most of their practices, while the West team went in shorts most of the week.

The results of the full pad practices showed on game day.

“We went full gear almost every time for practice,” Kennedy said with a smile. “We went out once and saw the West team in shorts and helmets, and thought ‘What is going on here?’ It showed who had put in the work at the end of the week.”

Off the field, Kennedy and the players learned skills from former professional and college players.

But it was a non-football memory that Kennedy said was one of the best.

“A buddy of mine from the East team and I got some airsoft guns and had some fun,” Kennedy said. “Some guys from the West team so us get them and they went and got some. When they got theirs, some of our teammates went and got some more. We had a blast the last couple of nights shooting at each other in the hotel. We all just acted like little kids.”

While Kennedy’s high school career might be over with, he has options to continue playing football at the next level.

He has drawn interest from several Division II, Ivy League and even a couple of FBS schools, including Troy.

It isn’t just Kennedy’s athletic skills that have coaches interested. He also possess a score of 31 on the ACT, which guarantees him a free ride to almost any school in the country.

At the Emfinger bowl, Kennedy talked and learned from former Miami Hurricane offensive lineman Brad Kunz.

Kunz took the same route to college football, as Kennedy will.

“He was a preferred walk on, and was actually their sixth lineman during his time,” Kennedy said. “He took the same route, and was very successful. He helped me a lot. I look forward to the next couple of weeks, and making a decision.”