Preview: Henderson Lions Open Season Against Perennial TAPPS Power Plano Prestonwood

PLANO PRESTONWOOD ACADEMY LIONS
AT
HENDERSON LIONS

7:30 p.m. Friday
Lion Stadium, Henderson

Coaches

Prestonwood: Christopher Cunningham

Henderson: Dickey Meeks

Next week

Prestonwood: vs. Gilmer

Henderson: at Nacogdoches

Playmakers

Prestonwood

LB Mike Mitchell, Sr., 6-4, 222
TE Christian Morgan, Sr., 6-5, 250 (committed to Florida State)
QB Mickey Mitchell, Soph., 6-7, 210
RB J.P. Coward, Sr.
DE Zach Missimo, Sr.
WR Cameron Yates, Jr.
QB/LB Corey Meader, Sr.
WR Michael Irvin, Fr.

Henderson

ATH Patrick "Monster" Brown, Sr., 5-10, 175
OL Nick Siler, Sr., 6-4, 255 (committed to Air Force)
RB/LB Jamaal Kind, Sr., 5-10, 185
DE Bo Brady, Sr., 6-1, 195
ATH Arqez Walton, Sr., 5-8, 190
CB Tre' Hollins, Jr., 5-11, 170
DT Contrell Phillips, Sr., 6-1, 230
WR/DB J'Korrie Centers, Sr., 6-0, 180
WR/DB Jamie Anthony, Sr., 6-2, 175
QB Zane Boles, Soph., 6-5, 198

Just the facts

Prestonwood linebacker Mike Mitchell had 151 tackles, 32 for loss, and 11 sacks last season. Mitchell has offers from Ohio State, Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oregon, SMU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, USC, Vanderbilt, and Washington (per 247sports.com). Mitchell played for Plano West last season.
Henderson averaged 42.3 points per game in 2011 and allowed 20.4.
Prestonwood running back J.P. Coward ran for 687 yards and five touchdowns in 2011.
Henderson's Bo Brady, who is moving from defensive tackle to defensive end, had 17 sacks and seven forced fumbles as a junior.
Prestonwood tight end Christian Morgan caught 16 passes for 226 yards a year ago. The Florida State commit also has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, California, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Miami, Missouri, Ole Miss, SMU, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Vanderbilt, and Washington (per 247sports.com).
Henderson defensive tackle Contrell Phillips missed 13 of the Lions' 14 games in 2011 after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the fourth quarter of the season opener at Mount Pleasant.
Henderson has used three quarterbacks during the preseason: sophomore Zane Boles, junior Connor Dotson, and senior Jansen Moore.
Prestonwood freshman receiver Michael Irvin is the son of the NFL Hall of Famer of the same name who won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.
Prestonwood was a 9-3 TAPPS Division I state semifinalist last season.
Henderson went 24-5 during the 2010-11 seasons.

Key matchup: Prestonwood's size vs. Henderson's speed. Mike Mitchell and Christian Morgan embody the brute strength and size that Prestonwood appears to have entering 2012. The question is, can that high-major Division I-bound duo and their teammates keep pace with the bevy of athletes Henderson will put on the field. Chief among those is Patrick "Monster" Brown, who scored 21 touchdowns five different ways as a junior. Ten of those scores were receiving touchdowns, while six were punt return TDs. Arqez Walton, Jamaal Kind, Diamante Wright, J'Korrie Centers, Jamie

Anthony, Tre' Hollins and several others give Henderson the athleticism edge if simply because of sheer numbers.

Don't be surprised if: Friday's game provides an interesting contrast in styles, especially since both teams run spread offenses. Henderson's spread will likely be predicated on speed and agility, while Prestonwood will probably try to use its size to get the private school an impressive season-opening road win against one of Class 3A's best programs from the past couple of years. The question for Henderson is who replaces record-setting quarterback Del Barnes (Cornell), who could be sorely missed at the QB spot if the Lions' system doesn't help usher in a new signal caller. If Henderson finds that new QB quickly, look out. The 2013 class is Henderson's deepest yet during coach Dickey Meeks' tenure. That group combined with solid quarterbacking could mean special results not only against Prestonwood, but for the rest of the season.