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The Charles Henderson Trojans (3-2, 1-1) are coming off a resounding 36-13 win over the reigning Class 3A State Champs last week and will return to Class 5A, Region 2 play this Friday against the Rehobeth Rebels (2-3, 0-2) on the road.

This will be Charles Henderson’s fifth straight road contest, bringing the brutal away stretch to a close with the final three games of the regular season to be played in the friendly confines of Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy.

Last week, Charles Henderson took care of St. James to pick up a second consecutive victory.

“They played tough and played well and executed for the most part once again,” CHHS Coach Quinn Hambrite said. “They played a tough quarterback. He put the (ball) in places we couldn’t touch but our defensive backs did a great job of playing the receivers’ hands and the offensive and defensive lines did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage and we executed pretty well.”

As defenses continue to key on All-State athlete Jywon Boyd, Charles Henderson senior running back Zach Coleman makes them pay. Coleman piled up 101 yards and four touchdowns on the ground against St. James and has already netted 653 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing this season.

“Zach is a kid that has always had the potential there,” Hambrite said. “He’s strong, he’s athletic, he’s fast and he’s physical and this year he’s kind of putting it all together and I’m really proud of him for that.

“One thing that is helping him is the attention that Jywon gets on the edge. If you play two-high safety to try and account for Jywon then we’re running it at you. To have a dynamic running back like Zach that can make plays for you helps tremendously.”

The Charles Henderson defense has been equally stellar the past two weeks, giving up just 13 points in the past two games combined. Junior All-American Zion Grady leads the Trojan defense with 42 tackles, 14 tackles-for-loss, seven sacks and an interception, while Boyd already has three interceptions and a return for a touchdown this season.

Charles Henderson’s attention now turns to Rehobeth, who is coming off a 39-20 win over Class 3A’s Opp last week. The Rebels started the season with a 21-20 win over Wicksburg but dropped the next three to Carroll, Headland and 7A’s Enterprise before getting the win over Opp.

“Rehobeth is a tough, downhill physical football team,” Hambrite said. “They won’t give up and they are a team that if you let hang around they can beat you.

“If you give them confidence they can beat you. They have some tough guys on the offense and defense and they have guys that can play in space. It will be a tough game for us.”

Rehobeth’s Terrell Townsend and Brayden Hardy have both surpassed 300 yards on the ground and each have two touchdowns or more this season. Charles Henderson holds a 15-2 all-time edge over the Rebels but last season’s 27-15 win was a struggle, which Hambrite has not forgotten.

“We struggled against them a little last year,” Hambrite said. “They were a tough physical team and I don’t see that changing. They play extremely hard for four quarters and they’re the type of team that if you look over them they can beat you. The emphasis for this week is respect your opponent, practice hard and be ready for a physical game.”

Rehobeth hosts Charles Henderson this Friday night at 7 p.m. W.F. Andrews Field in Rehobeth.