Montgomery, Ala. – It took Charles Henderson (2-2, 1-2 Region) one half of football to get warmed up, but once they did, the Trojans looked like a well-oiled machine in Friday night’s 37-7 win over Alabama Christian Academy.

With Charles Henderson leading 10-0, Alabama Christian (1-3, 1-1) attempted an onside kick to start the second half. The Trojans fielded the bounding ball, but fumbled on contact and the Eagles recovered. On the ensuing drive, Ricky Solar connected with Sam Moody on a 35-yard play-action pass to close the gap to three points.

Charles Henderson returned the kickoff to its own 45 and, five plays later, scored on a 10-yard Courtney Downing run.

 

The momentum shifted completely late in the third quarter. Charles Henderson quarterback Austin Ingram hooked up with Joshua Pearson for a 24-yard yard touchdown to extend the lead to 24-7. Alabama Christian’s next possession carried the game into the fourth where on the 11th play of the drive, Solar fumbled and De’Torrian Green returned it 72 yards to the end zone.

“We’ve been working on onside coverage all week. We should have covered it up and fallen down instead of trying to return it,” Charles Henderson head coach Mike Dean said. “We responded to that. We came back and made some plays there at the end.”

Charles Henderson watched the Eagles open the game with a 15-play drive that chewed up 9:40 off the clock. The Trojans eventually forced Alabama Christian to inside their own 40. Charles Henderson would run just four plays in the first quarter, but would score on every other possession in the game.

“The first quarter looked to me like what the last two games have been,” Dean said. “We’re slowly getting that out of our system, and looked better in the second half.”

Robert Salmon was true on a 32-yard field goal with 3:07 remaining in the opening frame. Ingram found John Johnson for a 37-yard strike late in the second quarter to build a 10-0 advantage.

Ingram finished 11-for-13 for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Downing had 45 yards rushing on 15 carries as well as four receptions for 65 yards.

Charles Henderson put the game away with a 21-yard strike from Ingram to Kenyatte Jones with 6:56 left in the contest.

The Trojans will host Greenville next week at Veterans Memorial Stadium.