Don’t get upset if Charles Henderson doesn’t get excited about being in the second round of the playoffs.

Why? Because they expect to be there.

With a pair of wins over St. James Saturday afternoon, Charles Henderson advanced to the second round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.

The Trojans impressive run stretches back to a 6-1 win over Monroe County in 2006. The only year Charles Henderson didn’t advance to the second round was 2011 when the Trojans were eliminated in the first round by Russell County.

Current Charles Henderson head coach Derek Irons feels the winning tradition started long before he arrived.

“The secret really isn’t a secret,” Irons said. “We have really great kids. Our kids are great baseball players and they work hard each and every day. Charles Henderson has had some great coaches lay the foundation of winning, and we just try to keep that going.”

Charles Henderson has played for the state championship on five different occasions, winning the blue map in 2004 and 2013.

“A lot of the success we have had is based on these kids knowing how to win,” said Irons. “Our program has been able to do that for a long time before I got here. I’m proud to be a part of the winning tradition at Charles Henderson, and I know that our guys are as well.”