West Chester Henderson dismantles Upper Merion behind four touchdown performance

Tagged under: District 1, Scoreboard, Scores

Mike Livingston | September 13, 2024

WEST CHESTER, PA – There was never much doubt about two things Friday night on the campus of West Chester Henderson High School; that the Warriors would come away with a blowout win, and that Henderson senior Brady Collins would be stopped.

The Warriors played host to the Vikings of Upper Merion, dismantling them 41-0 while Collins ran all over the field for a grand total of four touchdowns.

“We definitely played emotional today,” said Collins. “We didn’t play perfectly but we played well and we did our jobs and that’s what is important – that’s what was reflected on the scoreboard.”

From the jump it just seemed that Upper Merion never had much of a chance. The Vikings, who came into the night 0-3 following losses to Plymouth Whitemarsh (49-14), Norristown (14-7), and West Chester East (35-0) the team was in a downspell and showed no signs of picking up the slack tonight.

After a first drive that started out promising they would end up punting it away and making way for Collins and the Henderson offense led by Junior quarterback Jackson Lewis to march right down field and take a prompt 7-0 lead with about 3:39 to go in the first quarter.

The Vikings once again had some chances on the ensuing drive but after Junior wideout Kylee Hill dropped two big passes, one of which would have resulted in a 50-yard touchdown the team punted once more.

Henderson ran the same recipe to perfection as Collins took it down field himself and ran it in from 18 yards out to make the score 14-0 Warriors with about 9:52 to go in the second period.

“Yea, I’m really proud of our kids. They had fun playing the game,” said Henderson head coach Bob Brice. “They did everything we asked them to do.”

Though for the third consecutive drive it was Upper Merion on the move and in the best shape yet to score. However after catching a short pass in the flat, Junior Hal Eaton coughed up a ball right to the West Chester defense deep in Warriors territory.

Henderson proceeded to run the same sequence they’d done all evening, forcing Collins downfield before he eventually would run it in for yet another score making it 21-0 Henderson with around 1:22 to go in the first half as the Warriors star runner earned a first half hat trick.

“I think we’re a good football team and we’re going to continue to win games,” said Collins. “We’re just getting better and better each week, we started off young but we have some real experience now and we’re a great team that’s getting better.”

Henderson showed their improvement on the ensuing defensive drive as they forced a Vikings turnover on the first play of the drive to retain possession. The Warriors would then convert for a touchdown on their first offensive play of their drive when Lewis completed a 21-yard pass to Chase Kearney for the score.

Heading into halftime, Henderson lead 28-0.

The lead didn’t hold their for all to long as Collins kept his torrid streak going, breaking free for a 50-yard touchdown run to bring the tally to 35-0 with 5:16 in the third quarter.

The Warriors, who soon put their starters in mainly focused on running the clock out for the remainder of the night though their final opportunity came in the end of the fourth period when junior linebacker Tom Smith returned a 71-yard pick-six to the end zone for the score, making it 41-0 Henderson.

With the win, Henderson moves to 2-2 on the season as they prepare to face off with local mainstay Upper Moreland back at home. While Upper Merion falls to 0-4 on the young season and continues their road trip next week against Pottstown.

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