Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

In a playoff atmosphere Friday night, the Charles Henderson Trojans (5-3, 5-1) secured home field advantage in the first round of the Class 5A Playoffs with a 17-10 region win over the Eufaula Tigers (4-5, 3-3) on the road.

While special teams – specifically the punting game – put the CHHS defense in tough situations all night, it was a Eufaula mistake on a punt that ended up being the difference maker. With the game tied 10-10 with under two minutes remaining, and Eufaula facing a fourth-and-long, the snap went over the Tiger punter’s head and he was forced to fall on the ball at the Eufaula 1-yard line.

Just two plays later, Charles Henderson’s Nemo Williams scored on a 1-yard run to give the Trojans a 17-10 lead with 1:19 left. Eufaula managed to drive into CHHS territory on the ensuing drive but Trojan TK Kelley intercepted a Eufaula pass at the CHHS 1-yard line with under 40 seconds left to secure the win.

“A sloppy win is a win nonetheless,” CHHS Coach Quinn Hambrite said. “We couldn’t get it going offensively. The first drive was pretty decent, driving down the field, but we struggled from there. We had to push our offensive line with their mental and physical toughness tonight. They were tough. There were times they got beat off the ball but it wasn’t because of their ability or lack of ability. They were beat up.

“That’s no excuse but I know I can’t put a young guy in this type of game. I’m just proud of them for being resilient in this game and continuing to compete. We have to work on our body language and we have to learn how to handle success and we have to learn to win. Once they start learning how to handle success we can be a pretty good football team.”

Charles Henderson opened the game with a 3-0 lead in the first quarter after Hendrick Sanchez booted a 29-yard field goal. That was the only score in the first half with CHHS leading 3-0 at halftime.

The Charles Henderson defense came up big in the third quarter, however. After a short CHHS punt, Eufaula had the ball in Trojan territory. Nemo Williams then stripped a Tiger ball carrier and scooped up the ball before racing 62 yards for a touchdown to extend the CHHS lead 10-0 with 1:53 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter Eufaula took control of the game. First, Jave Williams scored on a 6-yard run with 11:56 in the game to cut the Trojan lead to 10-7. Eufaula tied the score 10-10 on a 39-yard field goal with 7:50 left leading to the exciting finish.

Charles Henderson totaled just 178 yards of offense but the Trojan defense also held Eufaula to just 106 total yards with zero yards rushing on 28 attempts. Charles Henderson was also penalized a staggering 21 times for 158 yards, while Eufaula was flagged eight times for 60 yards.

Nemo Williams led the Charles Henderson offense with 84 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries along with five tackles, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a touchdown on defense. Kellen Stewart completed 9-of-15 passes for 74 yards and Noah Greene caught four passes for 42 yards. Antonio Frazier also caught three passes for 32 yards.

Quay Grimes led the CHHS defense with 10 tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, two sacks and a forced fumble, while Bubba Williams earned six tackles, three tackles-for-loss and two sacks. Kam Christian tallied eight tackles and Kelly earned four tackles and an interception. Terrance Thomas also intercepted a pass for the Trojan defense.

The win secured home field advantage for Charles Henderson in the first round of the 5A Playoffs.

“It was very big for the Troy community and more than anything, my seniors,” Hambrite said of securing home field advantage. “They deserve to have another home game. They’ve been here with me for four years. Those guys stood tall with me and stayed with me and the rest of the coaches.

“They believed in us enough to stay here with us for four years and I feel like it’s my job to help reward them with another home game. I’m proud of these guys.”

Charles Henderson will look to end the regular season strong next week at Pike Road.