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EAST MARLBOROUGH>>Henderson kept their hopes of a slot in the District 1, Class 5A playoffs alive with a convincing 28-15 victory over host Unionville Friday night on the Longhorns’ home field.
“Our offense is playing pretty well right now,” said Henderson head coach Bob Brice. “They are all playing to get it done for the guy next to them. They are playing as a cohesive unit.”
Henderson (4-5 overall) got the job done offensively both on the ground and through the air. Brady Collins broke several big runs on the way to rushing for 154 yards on 19 carries, scoring a pair of touchdowns along the way.
“I think Brady is really starting to find his rhythm right now,” said Brice.
The Warriors drew first blood, breaking a scoreless tie that lasted nearly the duration of the first period before Collins hit a hole, tiptoed along the sideline with a balancing act to cover 31-yards for the game’s first touchdown, coming with just 44-second left in the period.
Unionville answered right back with a nice drive of their own, going 64 yards on 12 plays to start the second quarter, only to fumble it away and the Warriors’ one-yard line.
Making lemonade out of lemons, the Unionville defense put the Longhorns on the board, dropping Collins in the endzone for a safety and a 7-2 score they took into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Warriors went on the move, rushing four times, highlighted by a 21-yard jaunt from Collins, to the Unionville 31, before the game was halted for lightning, a delay that lasted a full hour before play could resume.
Henderson simply picked up right where they left off, eventually converting on a fourth and goal from the one on a quarterback sneak from Braeden O’Connell. O’Connell scored again just before the end of the third, this time with a 5-yard run.
Unionville (2-7 overall) began to find some success through the air, with quarterback Tommy McGinnis completing 12 of 21 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns, the first a 21-yard pass o Allessadnro Gundapeneni, the second a 10-yard strike to Brady Schmidt.
After Unionville had cut the lead to 21-9, the Warriors took no time at all in answering back, with Collins busting loose for a 55-yard score. While the Henderson offensive line was doing its job in making holes for Collins, a pretty good bulk of the runningback’s yards came after the first hit, breaking tackles and simply bulling his way to extra yards.
“That 55-yarder was big for us,” said Collins. “Things weren’t always open for us early in the the first half. We just had trust in each other that things would open up. I just try to keep my legs going. I hurt my shoulder a few weeks back, and now that it’s better, I’m running more aggressively.”
When the Warriors went to the air, O’Connell completed 11 of 13 passes to four different receivers for 99 yards, adding 44 yards and two touchdowns rushing.
Henderson currently sits at No. 14 in the District 1, Class 5A rankings, with 16 teams getting the coveted slot in the district playoffs. A win over rival West Chester East in the regular season finale would all but wrap up that slot for the Warriors.
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