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Dec. 25, 2005
All-Middle Georgia Football: Only a bad ankle could hold Henton back
By Robyn Disney
TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER
Peach County quarterback Antonio Henton has come a long way.
From the days as a freshman when he didn't want to go to the weight room to winning the Class AAA title his senior year, Henton has capitalized on his natural athletic ability and, in his mind, completely changed the way he looks at football.
"When I first came to the high school, I was a slacker," Henton said. "I didn't want to do workouts, I didn't want to practice. Then (coach Rance Gillespie) brought me into his office and told me that I would be the next guy to lead this team. But I couldn't do that if I didn't step up and set an example."
Not only did Henton set an example for his teammates to follow, but in the process he cemented his legacy in a history-rich program. Henton finished the season with 2,117 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. He had 2,744 all-purpose yards and 40 total touchdowns en route to becoming The Telegraph's 2005 All-Middle Georgia Football Player of the Year.
"We've never won a state title, so that automatically puts him in another class," Gillespie said. "One person can't win a title by himself but he was a major factor."
The way the 2005 season started, no one imagined the year Henton, a 6-foot-1, 217-pound senior, would end up having. He severely injured his right ankle in the 2004 playoffs and re-injured it the second day of the Trojans' summer camp. Despite having arthroscopic surgery, Henton wanted to start for the Trojans.
But he wasn't successful. Peach County started 0-2 for the first time since 1983 and Henton completed only seven passes for 56 yards. He didn't look like the player who was heavily recruited by Ohio State.
So Henton rested during the bye week and wanted to try again against Houston County. Gillespie knew better and sat Henton on the bench the entire game. The result was another loss, but with the region schedule starting the following week the Trojans needed Henton to be healthy.
He started the next week against Southwest and threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns in a 55-6 win, but the ankle was still bothering him.
"We were happy to finally get a win but we knew we could beat them," Henton said. "We were more concerned about Mary Persons and Washington County."
The Trojans beat Mary Persons 31-7. Henton completed 7 of 11 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he regained his scrambling ability and rushed for 242 yards.
"That was about the game my ankle stopped hurting," Henton said. "When the pain went away, my confidence went up."
The biggest test of the regular season came the following week against Washington County. Henton and the offense helped win that game in overtime. The rest of the schedule came easy for Henton as he finished the regular season with 1,368 passing yards, 410 rushing yards and 24 combined touchdowns.
He shined even brighter in the playoffs. If he couldn't find his favorite receiver, All-Middle Georgia first-teamer Chris Slaughter, he would find the second or even third receiver. If they were all covered, he would take off through holes in the line.
"Antonio trusts that the receivers will be at the spot and he just finds us," said Slaughter, who broke the state record with 23 touchdown receptions this season. "He puts the ball where it needs to be. He has great instincts."
It was those instincts that told Henton to commit early to Ohio State instead of waiting to see how the season went.
"I just really liked it up there," Henton said. "I wanted to get away from the area and be on my own. It'll be a good experience for me."
Henton is always thinking on the positive side of things. Even when he was hurt, he knew that would mean he would have to work even harder to come back.
"God does things for a reason," Henton said.
He said that his faith keeps his confidence from crossing the line to cocky.
"I always put God first," Henton said. "And once I do that, I know anything is possible. If I do something, I try to do it to my best and work hard and not take it for granted."
