Nottingham depends on last remaining starter from 2012 state title team
The way Mackenzie Henry figures it, the only thing better than hitting a defensive player right away is to build up some momentum before he hits him.
Thus, the Nottingham High senior has not problem moving to fullback this season after starting on the offensive line his first two years of varsity.
“It’s even better,” Henry said. “Usually they have me pulling as a guard, and that’s what the fullback is. You’re pulling as guard, and you get a running start before you hit them.”
It is fitting that Henry has taken over at fullback, since that’s where the graduated Nick DeMarie used to play. DeMarie, now a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, was the Delaware Valley Football Foundation’s major scholarship award winner last season.
Henry happens to possess a 4.0 grade point average and has received letters from coaches at Penn and Harvard, among other high-octane academic schools.
“That’s a great honor to be considered like Nick, because he was involved in everything,” Henry said. “I would talk to him a lot about school stuff and all that, ask him what he did to get to where he is. He would give me a lot of insight and advice on that.”
Henry is now the one dispensing advice, as he is the last remaining starter from Nottingham’s 2012 Central Jersey Group III championship team. His familiarity with pressure situations over the past two years, which included a trip to the CJ IV semifinals last year, will be counted on by the Northstar coaches.
“I think his experience in big games is very important,” coach Jon Adams said. “He’s relied on to be the leader. He and Jon Pierre-Louis are the holdovers from that team. The two of them together are a common thread to that state championship team. When they talk, people are going to listen.
“They were in the major battles. It’s paramount those two guys become verbal leaders and take the team by the reins. Especially with all the young guys. They can say, ‘This is what can happen if you work hard, stay together and stay focused.’ You look at our roster, even our older guys don’t have the big-game experience.”
Henry’s career began with the Hamilton Packers in the Mercer County Football League in 7th grade. He actually played fullback then, but had one of those adolescent growth spurts that suddenly turned him into a lineman.
He played on Nottingham’s freshman team in ninth grade, and then skipped over the JV and went straight to varsity as a sophomore.
“I was surprised by that,” Henry said. “That team was so full of experience. To get just thrown in there as a sophomore, my eyes were wide, and I was ready to take on challenge.”
Henry can remember how he got the news he would be a starter. It came after a scrimmage with Old Bridge, just prior to the season opener against Steinert. The team was huddled up and Adams told him he was going to start at left guard, where he would stay for the next two seasons.
“I got a big ovation from the other guys, it was an exciting experience,” Henry said.
Adams knew he had a good defense that year, and didn’t mind taking a chance with a sophomore since he would have time to develop.
“I said all along that year I was going to take things with that offense very slowly,” he said. “You look at our first three games and we didn’t blow anybody out. I knew nobody could score on us and nobody did because our defense was so good.
“It allowed me to play small ball, be patient and develop the offensive line. That line came on stronger and stronger and it showed in the playoffs and the state championship game.”
And on that day in early December at The College of New Jersey, the young 10th grader found himself celebrating the first state football championship in Nottingham history, and knowing he was a big contributor.
“That was the best day of my life when we won that championship,” Henry said. “Imagine being 15, 16 playing with these top notch players. They’re all at good colleges right now. And here you are, you just won a state championship with all of them. That has to be something big on the list of things I’ve done.”
That list will get even more impressive as he advances through life, but it has already been a heck of a ride so far for Henry. This year, his role becomes different in several ways. He is not only at fullback, but is also getting some time on defense as well.
“He’s been a godsend,” Adams said. “He played at a very high level as a sophomore, and he was an anchor again last year. This year we’ve asked him to do even more.
“He’s one of our captains, it was pretty much unanimous for the coaches, and I think it would be the same way with our players if they were voting. He’s such a good kid and a hard worker. He does every sprint with our backs instead of our linemen, and he runs hard. If he runs any harder, I may consider putting him in the sprints in track next spring. He’s really been a good soldier.”
This year, the soldier must become an officer and bark out orders to his young teammates as Nottingham attempts to keep itself in the upper echelon of the West Jersey Football League. The Northstars got crushed by Lenape in their opener, and then crushed West Windsor-Plainsboro South in Game Two.
“I try and enforce the focus, we have to keep focused,” Henry said. “We’re a young team, and our focus is not always there. Me and the other captains try to keep that focus, it’s the only way to win.”
He also tries to pass along lessons that the older guys told him when he was just starting out.
“They talked about facing adversity,” he said. “The way you face adversity depends on how you’re successful. In a tough situation, the way you attack it will be the outcome for you to either overcome it, or get beaten by it. Beating adversity is the key to success.”
Because he is 5-feet-11 and 220 pounds, Henry will not be a lineman in college. Adams sees him more as a linebacker.
“He could be the perfect linebacker because he can run,” the coach said. “We need him down (on the defensive line) because he’s also strong. But in college he could be a linebacker or he could play fullback.”
Whatever he does on the field, rest assured he’ll be killing it in the classroom. Aside from his 4.0, he is also an officer for the National Honor Society, the treasurer for student government, a member of the Key Club and the Peer Leadership organization.
“I take a lot of pride in my grades,” Henry said. “My parents totally pushed me through school and impressed to me that school is the most important thing. Right after practice I shower, go straight to the books and go until 10 or 11, and then go to sleep.
“Right now, I’ve gotten letters from colleges to fill out questionnaires (for football). I’m looking at schools for the academics, but if I do play football and it comes together with academics, I would love to play college football.”
After that, he wants to be “some type of doctor, but I’m not sure what kind yet. Probably a specialist.”
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