LIONS ROAR IN TYLER | Henderson holds off Chapel Hill, 34-31

TYLER – One thing is certain about the rather physical version of musical chairs that is the battle for playoff spots in District 8-4A, Division I: a pretty good football team may be left at home.

Henderson, Chapel Hill, Kilgore, Palestine, Lindale and Pine Tree are all battling for four spots. And after being absent from the postseason for a while, Henderson players, coaches and fans would love to have one of them.

The Lions got one step closer here at Chapel Hill ISD Friday night, a 34-31 win over the Bulldogs in a see-saw battle full of big plays and lead changes.

The end result, though: Henderson is 2-1 in district play, and dropped Chapel Hill to 1-2. It was Henderson’s first win over Chapel Hill in football since 2019.

Both teams are off next Friday night.

A back-and-forth game was just that, well into the fourth quarter.

Chapel Hill running back Lemuel Stenson got into the end zone, 26-yard touchdown run, with 4:06 left, putting the Bulldogs back in front, 31-28.

After having negative rushing yards at halftime, Henderson began to give the ball to Michael Russell late in the game, driving those big knees, but still down by 3. Russell got free for a run down to the Chapel Hill 8-yard-line, and on the next play, he and the offensive line pushed quarterback Blake Meeks forward, and that took the game to the two-minute time out.

Russell scored on the next play, a 4-yard run with 1:56 left in the game. The point after was missed, though, leaving the Lions up by the uneasy score of 34-31, with 1:55 left. Ivan Navarro was 24-of-24 on extra point kicks this year before that miss.

Chapel Hill didn’t have another come-from-behind moment, though, as Henderson’s Kelvin Davis, though, picked off a pass by Jakaivian Snow, and even though there was a flag thrown for a block in the back, the Lions maintained possession. The interception was ruled good, and Henderson took a knee to seal the win.

But it was touch-and-go, a close game the entire way after a feeling-out process in the first quarter.

Meeks and Brailon Walker, who was huge in the game on both sides of the ball, connect for a huge pass inside the Chapel Hill 5-yard-line, early in the third quarter. Two plays later, Jake Bishop scored on a 1-yard run, giving the Lions a 21-17 lead after Navarro’s extra point kick, with 8:53 left in the quarter.

The Bulldogs punched right back, a third huge play by Maliek Brown, the go-ahead touchdown on a 42-yard pass from Snow. Estevan Sandoval’s extra point made it 24-21 Bulldogs, with 7:59 left in the third.

Just over two minutes later, Henderson finally caught a bit of a break on a special teams play. Chapel Hill’s punt went out of bounds on their own 45-yard-line.

With the clock ticking under three minutes left in the quarter, Meeks on a second and 12 scrambled for 2. They lost a yard on third down, and were in a fourth and 10 at Chapel Hill’s 32.

A 5-yard penalty, though, and any thought of going for the fourth down conversion was abandoned. The Lions pinned Chapel Hill back at its own 1, about the best possible outcome for Henderson on a punt.

Chapel Hill managed 3 yards on first down, then second down went incomplete. A third-down pass out in the flat to Brown almost saw him get tackled by Henderson’s defense in the end zone.

They managed to get the punt away without a block, but Henderson’s Aiden Perry fielded it around the Chapel Hill 35, and that’s where the Lions began.

And on the very next play, Meeks connected with Walker near the line of scrimmage – Walker put a hand down on the turf and balanced himself, then outran everyone to the end zone. With 15 seconds left in the third, Henderson was back in front, 28-24.

Snow fumbled the ball on a third-and-long and Russell recovered the ball for Henderson at the Chapel Hill 38, with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

They were only able to manage 2 yards, though, and a fourth-and-8 brought a long pass to Walker, near the goal line. The pass fell incomplete, but Chapel Hill defensive back Ke’iron Green was flagged for pass interference.

That kept Henderson’s drive alive, at the CHHS 20.

Meeks was picked off, though, with 6:55 left in the game. Chapel Hill took over with two time outs left at its own 29.

That set up the game’s final moments.