Sports Editor

Losing a tight game to a ranked Class 5A team would suck the wind out of anyone.

But Charles Henderson head coach Hugh Fountain said his team has put last week’s 36-33 loss to No. 6 Wilcox-Central behind them and is now focused on their first playoff game since 1993 against a team the Trojans haven’t beaten in 20 years.

The Stanhope-Elmore Mustangs.

In 1980 Charles Henderson High School was the cream of Class 5A, winning the school’s only state title. That was also the last time CHHS beat Stanhope-Elmore and they did it twice that year, once in the regular season and once in the playoffs.

Since then the Millbrook Mustangs have made the Trojans pay, winning the last 11 times the two teams have met.

"They’ve basically waxed us every time we’ve played them," said Fountain about Stanhope.

Last year Charles Henderson and Stanhope-Elmore were in the same area and a win against the Mustangs in the final game of the regular season, could’ve given the Trojans a playoff berth.

However, Stanhope came out in the second half and turned a 14-14 tie into a 41-14 rout, crushing the Trojans’ postseason hopes.

"We have something to prove against Stanhope," said Fountain. "We want to prove that we’ve developed into a better football team then last season. Our players know that from here on out it’s one game at a time and we have a chance to win a state championship."

Fountain said regardless of where his team had played this week, whether it be Millbrook or Troy,

he knew any first round opponent the Trojans faced would be a good one.

"That’s the good thing about region play," he said. "Unlike in areas, regions just about eliminate the teams that have bad records from getting into the playoffs. It didn’t matter who we faced or where we faced them this week, because we knew we were going to play a competitive football team."

Stanhope-Elmore handed Pike County a surprising lopsided 28-6 loss last Friday night and Fountain said he’s worried about the Mustangs overall balance on offense.

"They’re a very balanced football team" said Fountain. "One player we’re going to have to watch carefully is Jeremy Powers. He plays wingback, catches passes and returns punts. He’s got game-breaking ability and we’re going to have to be aware where he’s at on the field at all times."

Despite the play of Powers and the Stanhope backfield, Fountain is glad his defense won’t be facing an offensive line as large as the one Wilcox-Central fielded last week. On offense, the Jaguars were able to overpower the smaller CHHS defensive front, allowing the Wilcox backs to run at will.

"We just weren’t able to stop them. There’s no one around with a offensive line like Wilcox,." said Fountain. "Size-wise, Stanhope’s a little more on our level upfront on offense and defense."