Lumberton a task for Saints

by Martin Kester
mkester@mcherald.com

Will Smith / The Herald St. Andrew’s senior running back Blackmon receives the ball from his 100th touchdown and congratulations from Saints head coach David Bradberry at the school on Monday.

On Friday night, there's only one place to watch football in Madison County - Roger Stribling Field in Ridgeland.

"You have the defending two-time state champions coming in here, and it's a put-out game," St. Andrew's coach David Bradberry said about Lumberton. "It's going to be a fantastic atmosphere."

The MHSAA South State quarterfinals between the Panthers, 9-1 and ranked No. 4 in Class 2A by The Clarion-Ledger, and the No. 5 Saints is arguably the biggest game ever in school history.

They'll be facing Rashod Henry, a Dandy Dozen senior back who made history last week by rushing for a state playoff record 439 yards on 30 carries in a 32-13 win over Kemper County.

"He is our go-to guy, and we try to get him the ball about 20 times a game," said Lumberton coach Teddy Dyess, "but I don't think you could ever foresee 440 yards in a game."

Henry has rushed for 1,938 yards with 20 touchdowns, drawing an easy comparison to the Saints' uber-back, Bradford Blackmon.

The senior joined an elite club with two touchdowns in last week's 34-13 win over McLaurin. Blackmon's 101 touchdowns place him one behind Vardaman's Odie Armstrong (102) for fourth on the all-time career list.

There are only five people in the 100-year state history that are over the century mark, including Lumberton's Terry Grant who Henry sat behind last year.

Tommy Woo / Special to The Herald St. Andrew’s David Marsh breaks through McLaurin defender Brad Chevalier for a 40-yard scamper early in the first quarter of Friday’s game against McLaurin.

"It's hard to prepare for kids like Blackmon and Reshod because practice doesn't really give you game speed," said Dyess. "Until you get there and see them, it doesn't really do them justice, (and) there's a lot of similarities between the two.

"Very similar size, very similar cuts and their vision is very similar."

The rushing touchdown numbers are similar, but Blackmon has 21 catches for 445 yards and 6 scores receiving, while rushing for just 1,264 yards.

"Bradford's numbers are down because the ball is being spread around," said Bradberry. "It happens every night. We throw a touchdown pass, or Conway makes a big run a lot of times because of where Bradford is.

"There are certain teams that can take Bradford out of the ballgame," added the fourth-year coach. "The other guys have to step up, and they have so far this year."

Senior quarterback Conway Craig connected with Lee Smith for a 40-yard touchdown last week against McLaurin. That was the senior receiver's seventh score to lead the team, but he's quick to defer praise to his classmates.

"Those are the two playmakers on our team, everybody in the state knows that," said Smith, who's averaging 26 yards a catch. "I do my role on the team and help out the best I can. It may fall under the radar sometimes, but everybody on our team does their role to help us win."

To win on Friday, they'll need to limit Henry, who finds ways to influence games even when not running the ball.

The 5-foot-9-inch back has 14 carries for 119 yards in 28-2 win over Perry Central, but returned an interception 70 yards for a score. Against Seminary, his only carry was a 56-yard touchdown run that capped an 18-point first quarter in a 33-0 win.

"Henry's got the ability to score from 70 yards out," said Bradberry, "and you have to get to him before he gets cranked up in the secondary. Once he gets to linebacker depth, it's hard to get him down."

"We can't give up the big play (and) we have to stop Henry," said Smith. "He's the heart of their team, so if we can shut down their running game and not give up the big play, we should come out on top."