Henderson Hopes to Halt Quinlan Ford’s Four-Game Winning Streak

Class 3A Division II Region II
Area Playoff

Henderson Lions (7-4)
vs.
Quinlan Ford Panthers (8-3)

2 p.m. Saturday
Royse City ISD Stadium

Coaches
Henderson: Dickey Meeks
Ford: Todd Wallace

Last week
Henderson: def. Van, 48-21
Ford: def. Paris North Lamar, 33-28

Next week: Winner plays Celina (9-2) or Dallas Madison (5-5) in a 3A Division II Region II semifinal.

Playmakers

Henderson

• QB Patrick "Monster" Brown, Sr., 5-10, 175 (26 of 40, 409 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs; 134 carries, 1,037 yards, 10 TDs; 20 catches, 340 yards, 2 TDs; 2 punt return TDs)
• RB Diamante Wright, Sr., 5-11, 175 (190 carries, 902 yards, 13 TDs; 1 TD catch)
• DE Bo Brady, Sr., 6-0, 195 (64 tackles, 25 for loss, 12.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 1 recovery)
• RB/MLB Jamaal Kind, Sr., 5-10, 185 (1 rush TD; 98 tackles, 11 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumbles, 2 recoveries)
• OL Nick Siler, Sr., 6-4, 255 (committed to Air Force)
• DB J'Korrie Centers, Sr., 6-0, 180 (53 tackles, 3 INTs, 3 forced fumbles)
• WR Jamie Anthony, Sr., 6-1, 180 (17 catches, 402 yards, 1 TD)
• DT Contrell Phillips, Sr., 6-1, 230 (28 tackles, 9 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 recoveries)
• LB Arqez Walton, Sr., 5-8, 190 (58 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery)
• LB/DB Kenny McCown, Sr. (51 tackles, 7 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovery, 1 def. TD)

Quinlan Ford

• RB/DB Taylor Sikorsky, Sr., 6-2, 170 (174 carries, 1,724 yards, 16 TDs; 2 TD catches; 51 tackles, 1 sack, 2 INTs)
• RB/LB James Silkey, Sr., 5-7, 180 (187 carries, 1,325 yards, 19 TDs; 61 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble)
•  QB Kaden Wallace, Sr., 5-7, 140 (11 of 42, 296 yards, 3 TDs, 5 INTs; 45 carries, 216 yards, 4 TDs)
• OL Joseph Stieferman, Sr., 6-3, 250
• OL Colton Mosely, Sr., 6-0, 245
• LB Cesar Vega, Sr., 5-9, 200 (89 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 recoveries)
• DB Garret Whitley, Sr., 6-0, 170 (39 tackles, 3 INTs, 1 fumble recovery)
• LB Jon Humphries, Jr., 5-10, 180 (75 tackles, 1 INT)
• LB Jerry McNeil, Jr., 6-0, 210 (56 tackles, 1 sack, 3 forced fumbles)
• DL Bryan Schultz, Sr., 6-4, 225 (46 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery, 1 kick block, 1 punt block)

Just the facts

• Henderson averages 29.0 points per game and allows 20.3.
• Quinlan Ford averages 31.3 points per game and allows 22.5.
• All seven of Henderson's wins have come by double digits, while three of the Lion's four losses were four points or fewer.
• Ford has won four consecutive games by an average of 9.5 points.
• Three of Ford's four wins in a row came by 2, 4, and 5 points.
• Henderson averages 34.9.2 total yards per game: 229.5 rushing, 119.6 passing.
• Ford averages 400.3 total yards per game: 372.8 rushing, 27.5 passing.
• Ford's 33-28 win vs. Paris North Lamar last week avenged a 37-33 non-district loss to North Lamar on Sept. 28.
• Henderson's Patrick "Monster" Brown and Diamante Wright combined for 381 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the Lions' 27-point first-round win vs. Van.
• Henderson is trying for its third consecutive third-round appearance.

Key matchup: Quinlan Ford's defensive front vs. Henderson's running game. Van had one of the best defensive lineman East Texas -- Division I-caliber Syd Moore -- but that didn't help the Vandals enough in their quest to slow down Henderson's potent 1-2 spread running game punch of Patrick "Monster " Brown and Diamante Wright. Brown is a big play waiting to happen, while Wright ran incredibly hard against Van, rolling up a big night to complement the always hard to defend Brown. When they're rolling, Henderson doesn't need much of a passing game, which was the case against Van. The Lions ran the ball more than 50 times to amass 400-plus rushing yards. Nick Siler and the Henderson offensive line dominated all but one person on that Van front: the aforementioned Moore, who had six tackles for loss. Ford will need that kind of performance from multiple defenders who won't be playing at the next level to have a chance at beating the runnin' Lions.

Don't be surprised if: Henderson rides that running game to a convincing second-round win. It's not always easy to tell what's going to happen in a playoff game, especially when that game is after the first round. But this is simply a bad matchup for Ford. The Panthers are virtually run-exclusive offensively, which means they will struggle to fight back if Henderson builds an early lead. Ford averages 4.3 pass attempts per game, so the Lions can load the box with a safety or even two. Henderson's already solid against the run thanks to end Bo Brady, linebacker Jamaal Kind, and the rest of the Henderson defensive front. The teams don't have a common opponent, but their losses suggest that Henderson has played a vastly superior schedule -- one that does not include a 2A school, of which there are two on Ford's schedule, including one (Troup) that beat the Panthers. Henderson was favored against a 9-1 Van team that had more quality wins on its schedule than Ford, so it only makes sense to believe that the Lions are a heavy favorite against a Ford team that won't have the horses to keep up with Henderson if the Lions get ahead early. Ball control and forcing turnovers are the Panthers' best bets at staying in the game.