If nothing else, Friday night’s game against visiting Rockdale County, showed Apalachee High School is not one dimensional on offense.
With freshman standout Stanley Williams sidelined for a good part of the game with what appeared to be a slight concussion, sophomore Zay Henry stepped up and scored three touchdowns in the first half to help pace the Wildcats to a key 31-14 Region 8-AAAA win. AHS (5-1 overall and in region play) now prepares for a huge showdown with Clarke Central this week in Athens.
“Rockdale County is a good team,” Wildcat head coach Shane Davis said. “They are especially good defensively so it was nice to see us have the success we did. Rockdale is very athletic and physical.”
Henry finished with 143 yards on 16 carries while teammate Alex Camp added a bruising 127 yards on 25 attempts from his fullback position.
Leading 21-7 at halftime, AHS ended Rockdale’s initial possession of the third quarter on an interception from Drew House. Starting at their own 37, the Wildcats capped the drive on a 3-yard run by Camp with 6:17 left in the quarter. Camp picked up a key first down and a third and 15 play and a pass from quarterback Clint Ashe to Jermaine Smith gave AHS a first goal at the 3 .
House, who also recovered a fumble in the win, had a big defensive performance.
“I tried to think about what I needed to do each play defensively,” House said. “I am trying to be a senior leader for our team. Coach Davis always preaches to run to the football. I was glad to be able to make those plays to help us win.”
A 46-yard field goal from Guy Hunt at the 9:47 mark of the fourth quarter gave the Wildcats a 31-7 lead and effectively put the game out of reach. It was also a big night for Hunt as he had several kickoffs into the endzone and delivered on some lengthy punts.
Going into the Rockdale County game, Hunt said he had noticed if the football was a little flatter, it helped him with kicking distance.
“This was also probably a perfect weather night,” Hunt said. “Everything just seemed to come together for me in this one.”
AHS opened the scoring on a 30-yard run by Henry on the final play of the first quarter. Rockdale County would even the score on a 48-yard pass from Darion Clark to Micah Reed in the second quarter.
The Wildcats had an answer, however, two of them in fact on a pair of 40-yard scoring runs from Henry.
Leading 21-7 at halftime, AHS continued to play solid defense in the second half and handed Rockdale County, who reached the state semifinals a season ago, its fourth loss of 2010. The defeat will likely keep the Bulldogs out of the postseason this time around.
“We came out wanting to start fast,” said quarterback Clint Ashe. “Our backs and linemen did a great job helping us take control of the game.”
Davis said the coaching staff and trainers would monitor Williams on a day-to-day basis. The Wildcat coach said he hopes the freshman will be able to play this week, but no chances would be taken.
Williams received a big hit during a kickoff return and was sent to the sideline by the lead referee. Trainer Jo Lynn Miller and her staff kept a watch on Williams and determined it best to hold him out the remainder of the night.
