Trojans want to start fast, keep tempo

Published 10:27 pm Thursday, November 28, 2013

Jam it in gear, nail the throttle and don’t lift until the game is over.

That is the philosophy of the Charles Henderson offense against UMS-Wright Friday night.

In each of their three blowout wins in the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs, the Charles Henderson Trojans have scored first, and they want to continue that trend this week.

Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

“We like to put the pressure on the other teams,” said offensive lineman Hunter Kennedy. “The offensive unit likes to move quick, and keep the pace of the game going. We feel that we can score on any play at any time.”

The Trojans scored on their first drive of the game against Dora and Central-Clay County, and reached the end zone on their second drive against Childersburg.

Charles Henderson has outscored its opponents 66-0 in the first half in its first three playoff games.

“When you are able to score early it puts pressure on the other team to respond quickly,” said Charles Henderson head coach Mike Dean. “They don’t want to fall behind by two scores, so they begin to rush and maybe take a chance early. You can take advantage of that on the defensive side of the ball, and turn right back around and set your offense up with a short field for the next drive.”

The Trojan offense operates from a hurry up-no huddle system over 90 percent of the time, and gets the play call from offensive coordinator Rodney Jordan through hand signals from the sideline.

“We know we can score,” said receiver John Johnson. “When we don’t more often than not, we are the team that stops us with penalties or mistakes. We want to score every time we get the ball.”