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published: Friday, September 21, 2012
Yulee runs past South Lake in victory
FRANK JOLLEY | Staff Writer
frankjolley@dailycommercial.com
Yulee High School's game plan against South Lake was simple.
Get the football into Derrick Henry's hands.
The Hornets' senior running back, one of the most sought-after ball carriers in the nation, was a workhorse on Friday. Henry gained 302 yards on 43 carries and scored five touchdowns in a 42-14 win against the previously undefeated Eagles.
Henry lined up as a receiver, a wingback, a tailback and as a quarterback in the Wildcat formation. The 6-foot-3, 240 pounder proved elusive no matter where he played, frequently running through arm tackles and using his combination of speed and power to wear down the South Lake defense.
"Derrick's a special back and you want him to have the ball as often as possible," Yulee coach Bobby Ramsay said. "He's the type of runner who never seems to get tired, no matter how often you give him the ball. In fact, he wants the ball on every play."
Henry got the Hornets off to a quick start with a 50-yard touchdown run on fourth play of the game. He started running to his right before reversing course and outracing the South Lake defense down the sidelines for his eighth touchdown of the season and 102nd rushing touchdown of his high-school career.
Henry added scoring runs of 16 and four yards in the second quarter. He had a five-yard scamper in the third quarter and surpassed the 300-yard mark with a 16-yard touchdown run on his final carry of the game.
South Lake had an opportunity to get back into the game late in the second quarter.
Trailing 21-0, the Eagles mounted a nine play, 64 yard scoring drive the featured power running behind right tackle T.J. McCoy. Anthony Miller capped the drive with an 18-yard scoring run with less than two minutes remaining in the half, cutting into the Hornets' advantage.
Yulee, however, took advantage of a short kickoff and raced 57 yards on eight plays to score with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half to regain control of the game.
South Lake scored the final touchdown of the game on a five-yard pass from quarterback Buck Solomon to Kris White.
Solomon was the Eagles most effective running, gaining 50 yards on eight carries. White added 47 yards on 12 carries.
Through the air, Solomon completed five of 11 passes for 104 yards, including a 55 yarder to Nick Cedeno on the Eagles' final drive.
Yulee finished with 384 yards of total offense. Quarterback Dalton Bradley completed seven of 10 passes for 66 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown pass to fullback Jason Ray.
Henry, who is said to be considering Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee as his college choices, he has now scored 106 touchdowns in his career and rushed for more than 8,600 yards. He has 880 yards in three games this season.
The loss dropped South Lake to 2-1 on the season the Eagles will open district play on the road today against Class 7A-District 4 kingpin Orlando Evans.
