I have been missing my Monday morning conversations with Henry County High School head coach James Counce Jr. so much that this week I dialed his number and had a long talk about the Patriot football team.

We both enjoyed it so much we are going to resume our every week call and I thought since I was taking up his time, I might as well pen a column and let everyone else know what the coach said. So look for this column for the remainder of the football season.

Before I start telling you what Counce told me, I want to make it clear that I am a very happy retired man. I will be remaining retired and don't plan to do any more public work. I don't really consider writing this column work. It is more of a passion than anything else. 

PATRIOTS POTENT AGAINST WARRIORS

Henry County improved to 4-1 on the season by blasting Hunters Lane 63-12 on Friday in the school's annual homecoming contest at Patriot Stadium. The Patriots are now 46-9 in homecoming games and have not lost a homecoming battle since the 2006 season.

Patriot quarterback Caden Marshall tossed three touchdown passes in just eight pass attempts in the game. He threw scoring tosses to Brock Beddies, Rush Cox and Jaaron Lewis.

It seemed like there was a big pass play on just about every snap, but as usual the Patriots had a run-heavy attack as they posted a 246-110 edge in rushing yards against the Warriors. James Bobbitt was the Patriots’ leading rusher with five carries for 47 yards while scoring two touchdowns. Evan Richardson and Jacob Paschall also ran for touchdowns.

The Patriot defense limited Hunters Lane to just 209 yards in total offense and 10 first downs. DeMarccus Patton continued to play aggressively at linebacker as he led Henry County with seven tackles with three being for a loss of yardage. He had one quarterback sack. Bobbitt and Beddies both intercepted Warrior passes.

Special teams contributed mightily with Killian Snow seeing his first action of the season and connecting on all nine of his extra point kicks to tie a school record, while Cameron Phillips returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. It was the second time this season the Patriots returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Javion Boyd ran a school-record 99 yards on a kickoff return in the season-opening win at Brighton.

COUNCE PLEASED WITH EFFORT

Counce was happy to see his group of runners remain successful and really liked what he saw in the passing game.

"We hang our hat on playing physical and on the running game. Our line continues to play well as a unit. We had to replace a couple of guys that graduated but these guys have played together and work well together up there. 

“Our runners are running hard and having success but we know as the season goes on that we are going to find an opponent that is going to force us to beat them in the passing game. So far, we have had a lot of success throwing the football this season. The line is giving Caden time to throw and he is getting the ball to guys he needs to get it to. 

“We were without Javion Boyd and Martez Rack, who were out with injuries, but Brock Beddies and guys like Peyten Littleton stepped in and did good jobs. I'm excited about the continued growth in the passing game," Counce said.

Snow is a sophomore kicker who saw some varsity action there last year but had decided in the summer to step away from football. He returned to practice a little over a week ago and earned the start against Hunters Lane. Counce said Jacob Davis has missed time with an injury, while Carter Thompson and Nick Allison are working hard to give the team some depth at kicker.

“Killian certainly came in to give us a lift kicking extra points and on kickoffs. I think as he gets more reps, he will be able to get some kickoffs in the end zone. That doesn’t mean those other guys haven't been working really hard on their games. They have worked extremely hard to improve and are showing improvement every day in practice. That group will continue to be evaluated every practice and the guy that is doing the best will get the start,” said Counce.

Counce was pleased with the amount of pressure the defense put on Hunters Lane’s offense which limited the Warriors’ big play ability. He said Mallaki Boutwell gave them so much trouble they resorted to basically tackling him nearly every play, although no penalties were called.

EAGLES ARE UP NEXT

Despite the big win over Hunters Lane, the Patriots fell from No. 2 to No. 3 in the Associated Press Class 5A poll this week behind unbeaten Knoxville West and Centennial teams.

Henry County will go on the road to play their third game of the season against a Class 6A opponent when they travel to Clarksville Friday to play at Northeast High School. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Henry County has met Northeast 38 times in football and holds a 34-4 edge in those games, including last year’s 41-6 triumph. All the Clarksville schools moved into Class 6A this year to join Dickson County in the same region much like the former District 10-AAA Henry County competed in for many years.

Northeast has had a tough start to the season as the Eagles have yet to post a win after last week's 40-0 loss to Rossview. Counce said the Eagles program changed head coaches late in the summer and that may have contributed to the slow start.

“They look like the same old dangerous Northeast squad to me. They have size and are athletic on both lines of scrimmage. They have two or three really special athletes that can break a play at any point and their quarterback looks like he is doing a good job. Now I know our guys know what their results have been, but we have been talking to them about how if we are going to be a high-ranked team, then we have to play like one of those each week. I think our guys trust us as coaches enough to believe that if we tell them we have to get prepared well if we want to beat Northeast, then they will work hard to prepare to beat Northeast," said Counce.

He said the Eagles want to get the ball in the hands of senior Tristan Doss (3) every time they can. Doss runs out the backfield and catches passes downfield. Senior Taylor Cramer (15) is the leading receiving threat as he averages more than 50 yards a game on receptions and caught two touchdown passes in a game with Kenwood earlier this season. He also runs the ball some.

The quarterback is junior Phoenix Love (8) who can run the ball and heave passes effectively at times.

Defensive back Jaylon Patterson (6) is a senior that leads Northeast in tackles for losses. Junior Eamonte Wynn averages more than seven tackles a game.

"Northeast can be an awfully hard place to play," Counce said. "We have to convert scoring opportunities when they come so that we don’t give them a chance to start believing they are in the game. Northeast can be hard to beat when they think they have a chance. We need to be ready to play well and keep the season moving.” 

WRITING THIS COLUMN HAS BEEN FUN

I have to admit that getting back in the saddle with this column has been fun. Especially since I’m sitting at my desk at home and not having to try to cross Market Street to get to the P-I office in downtown Paris!

If you have not made it out to watch the Patriots play football, then you are missing a real treat. This is a very solid team that makes big plays in every aspect of the game from offense to defense to special teams. If the squad can remain healthy, there is no reason that this squad won’t make another run through the playoffs and be able to take that next step to return to the Class 5A state championship game for the first time since 2018.

If you can’t make it to the games, the games are streamed online each week. There is just one way to finish this column and that is by saying: Go Big Red!

TOMMY PRIDDY is the former sports editor for The Post-Intelligencer and is a member of the Paris-Henry County Sports Hall of Fame. He now lives the retired life in Henry but still follows the Henry County Patriots regularly.

Load comments