After two tough weeks to open the season, Henderson County finally broke through Friday night in Lexington.
Behind seven total touchdowns from senior quarterback Brody Belt, the Colonels pulled away from Henry Clay in the second half for a 63-34 victory, improving to 1-2 on the season.
The win came after a long bus ride to Lexington in temperatures reaching the mid-90s, adding another obstacle to the road trip.
“It was nice to go on the road after a three-and-a-half-hour bus ride over here in the heat today, and to see the kids battle,” Henderson County head coach John Elliott said. “We overcame a little adversity with personal fouls and ejections and all kinds of things going on and came out with a win. So, it’s nice to get that first W of the season.”
Belt was at the center of nearly everything Henderson did offensively, completing 13-of-19 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns while adding 122 yards and three more scores on 15 carries.
The performance also gave Henderson the rushing attack it had been missing through the first two weeks.
“When you’re able to run the ball, that’s when great things can happen,” Belt said. “Being able to run the ball can open up so many more options offensively.”
The Colonels struck first when Belt connected with Kace Smith for a 28-yard touchdown, but Henry Clay immediately answered when Chaii Paris took the ensuing kickoff from his own 7-yard line straight up the middle untouched for a score.
Belt put Henderson back in front with a 21-yard touchdown run before the Blue Devils answered again, tying the game at 14 late in the opening quarter.
Belt found Jackson Loveless for a 36-yard touchdown down the right sideline to make it 21-14. Henry Clay responded once again, tying the game at 21 before Kingston Shidler powered through the middle for a 10-yard touchdown to send HCHS into halftime with a 28-21 advantage.
Loveless’ score came after he had exited with an injury during the first quarter. He returned a few series later and finished with five catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
To open the second half, Shidler broke loose for 43 yards to help set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Belt to Loveless, who made a diving catch in the end zone to extend the lead to 35-21.
Henry Clay answered to pull back within seven, but that was as close as the Blue Devils would get.
On the Colonels’ ensuing possession, Shidler caught a pass and powered through several defenders for a big gain. After the play, a pair of Henry Clay defenders shoved Shidler, sparking a scuffle that resulted in three ejections — Shidler and two Blue Devils.
The Colonels didn’t let the incident derail the drive.
Junior running back Johnny Langley broke loose for 24 yards on the next play. Belt eventually faked the handoff and kept it himself for a six-yard touchdown, putting Henderson ahead 42-28 late in the third quarter.
The Colonels’ defense forced a punt after junior Jace Duncan recorded a sack, and Belt soon broke four tackles on a 33-yard touchdown run before leaping into the end zone to push the lead to 49-28 early in the fourth.
Henderson’s defense then created a couple of turnovers to put the icing on the cake.
Christian Haygan pressured Henry Clay quarterback Cooper Dickerson on the Blue Devils’ next possession, allowing junior Tucker Siewert to step in front of a pass for an interception. On the Colonels’ very next play, Belt connected with senior Hezzie Harris for a 24-yard touchdown.
Siewert had been waiting for an opportunity on defense.
“Coach told me to be ready on defense, and me and Kieran have been splitting reps,” Siewert said. “He just told me to be ready, and I’ve been waiting on my turn, and finally got a pick.”
Junior Kieran Cole later added a four-yard touchdown run, and Reed Clark picked off another Henry Clay pass as Henderson turned what had been a seven-point game late in the third quarter into a rout.
The Colonels scored 28 unanswered points in about eight minutes of game time to take a 63-28 lead and trigger the running clock before Henry Clay added a late touchdown.
Along with Belt’s 122 rushing yards, Shidler finished with 73 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Langley added 51 yards on six attempts, while Cole rushed three times for 27 yards and a score.
Loveless led Henderson through the air with five catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Harris added four catches for 44 yards and a score, while Smith caught two passes for 31 yards and a touchdown.
It was a drastic turnaround for a Henderson rushing attack that entered Friday averaging -6.5 yards per game through the first two weeks. The Colonels had managed just two rushing yards against Pulaski County before finishing with -15 against Madisonville-North Hopkins.
“We felt like tonight that we needed to run the ball,” Elliott said. “We had two goals: run the football and stop the run. I wouldn’t say we were real successful in the first half stopping the run, but we were able to counter that with our own running attack, and that helped immensely.”
The Colonels also saw an inexperienced defense take a step forward, particularly as the game progressed.
Senior linebacker Spencer Kellen led Henderson with 13 tackles by the Hendersonian’s count. Kellen entered the season without varsity experience after spending the past few years developing at the junior varsity level.
“We went in with the intention of stopping the run,” Kellen said. “I think we accomplished that goal. They didn’t beat us on the ground. We just had to execute, and tonight, I think in the second half especially, we executed.”
The win marked Henderson’s second straight over Henry Clay after the Colonels edged the Blue Devils 19-16 last season for Elliott’s first victory as Henderson’s head coach.
Henderson County returns home Friday, Sept. 11, for a 7 p.m. matchup with Gibson Southern.
Henderson Co. 63, Henry Clay 34
Henderson Co. Henry Clay
23 First Downs 12
32-274 Rushes-Yards 25-99
12-18-0 Comp-Att-Int 11-26-2
193 Passing Yards 191
467 Total Yards 290
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
10-93 Penalties-Yards 14-130
0-0 Punts-Avg. 2-25.0
Henderson Co. 14 14 14 21 — 63
Henry Clay 14 7 7 6 — 34
Hend – Kace Smith 28 pass from Brody Belt (Miles Pryor kick) 6 plays, 50 yards
Clay – Chaii Paris 93 kickoff return (Noah Gute kick)
Hend – Belt 21 run (Pryor kick) 7 plays, 66 yards
Clay – Landon Cross 10 pass from Cooper Dickerson (Gute kick)
Hend – Jackson Loveless 36 pass from Belt (Pryor kick) 5 plays, 65 yards
Clay – Henry Morgan 15 pass from Dickerson (Gute kick)
Hend – Kingston Shidler 9 run (Pryor kick) 7 plays, 56 yards
Hend – Loveless 11 pass from Belt (Pryor kick), 8 plays, 80 yards
Clay – Marquis Elmore 21 run (Gute kick)
Hend – Belt 6 run (Pryor kick) 8 plays, 87 yards
Hend – Belt 33 run (Pryor kick), 2 plays, 33 yards
Hend – Hezekiah Harris 24 pass from Belt (Pryor kick), 1 play, 24 yards
Hend – Kieran Cole 3 run (Pryor kick) 4 plays, 26 yards
Clay – Milan Hernandez 42 pass from Triston Theron (run failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Henderson Co. – Brody Belt 15-121, Kingston Shidler 6-72, Jonathan Langley 7-59, Kieran Cole 3-23, Team 1-(-1).
Henry Clay – Marquis Elmore 2-37, Andres Ordonez 11-27, Chaii Paris 2-22, Triston Theron 2-17, Zac Hoellein 1-0, Laiszhon Moore 6-(-1), Cooper Dickerson 1-(-3).
Passing
Henderson Co. — Belt 12-18-0 193.
Henry Clay – Dickerson 11-20-1 137, Theron 3-5-1 54, Elmore 0-1-0.
Receiving
Henderson Co. — Jackson Loveless 5-74, Hezekiah Harris 4-44, Kace Smith 2-31, Shidler 1-44.
Henry Clay — Henry Morgan 6-83, Paris 3-21, Landon Cross 2-26, Elmore 2-19, Milan Hernandez 1-42.
