STRONG - Before the season started, Woodlawn Coach Zach Meyer had pegged the Strong Bulldogs as the team to beat for the South Conference championship this season. Last Friday night, the ‘Dogs lived up to that billing.
Utilizing its huge speed advantage, Strong bolted out to a three-score lead in the first quarter before the Bears cut it to a one possession game in the second half only to have the Bulldogs pull away at the end for a 48-20 victory at Strong.
The loss dropped the Bears to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in South Conference play. The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 and 3-0 in league action.
Kaiden Jones McHenry had a stellar night for the Strong, completing seven-of-15 passes for 247 yards and four touchdowns while rushing 20 times for 125 yards to give him 372 yards of total offense for the game.
McHenry, according to Hooten’s Arkansas Football, was timed at 4.4 in the 40 over the summer at a University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football camp. Kaiden is one of several Bulldogs who possess speed in the mid-4 range, including his twin brother, running back Germyren McHenry and receiver Jalen Wallace.
Wallace was Kaiden McHenry’s favorite target in the passing game Friday night, hitting him four times for 161 yards and three touchdowns.
Strong took advantage its speed early, as Kaiden McHenry went 15 yards on fourth-and-5 for the Bulldogs’ first score before hitting Cedrick Brown for a 31-yard touchdown and then hooking up with Wallace for a 78-yard score on the final play of the first quarter, giving Strong a 22-0 lead. Kaiden McHenry ran in the two-point conversions after the first and third touchdowns.
Meyer said after the game that he was expecting the ‘Dogs to test his defensive secondary, but did not expect it to be a successful as it was. “We knew it was coming, but we didn’t know it was going to be as accurate as it was,” he said. “(Kaiden McHenry) made some really good throw...
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