AJC
AJC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ohio State-bound QB is top Peach
By CURTIS BUNN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/18/05
FORT VALLEY — This is the kind of leader quarterback Antonio Henton was for Peach County: In the regular season against Stephens County, hard-hitting linebacker Keaton Thompson bore down on Henton on a blitz. Instead of throwing the ball away or using his outstanding running ability to avoid the rush, Henton held on to the ball until the last possible second so his receiver could complete his route.
He took a vicious hit from Thompson, but not before making the throw for a 35-yard gain.
"Antonio saw the linebacker coming. He's the same linebacker we saw on film against Chestatee nearly take a guy's head off the week before," Peach County coach Rance Gillespie said. "Antonio knew if he held on to it he'd take a lick.
"He could have avoided the hit, but he has the courage to stand in there and take a shot like that to make the play. That's the kind of player he is. Special."
Henton's ability to take a licking is only part of a dazzling repertoire that helped carry the Trojans to their first state championship — and helped make him The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Player of the Year.
Stats to match talent
At 6 feet 2, 215 pounds, he can make all the throws, as evident in his stats this season: 2,200 yards passing, 30 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.
"To tell the whole truth, to say I was surprised by his season would not be accurate," Gillespie said. "I saw so much potential. But week-to-week, I'm still amazed at how incredible Antonio performed."
Henton's stellar performances were not limited to his passing prowess. He rushed for more than 800 yards and 10 touchdowns.
"He has great arm strength and makes good decisions on where and when to throw the ball," Stephens County coach Travis Noland said. "But he has an uncanny ability to not just escape the rush with his ability to run, but when to turn it upfield and when to pass on the run.
"He's such a smart quarterback. And that makes him so hard to defend. To make the play, he'll take a hit like he did against us consistently. Just a great player."
Such flattery makes Henton blush. Beloved around school because of his humility and high academic achievement — and even more now after leading the Trojans to the Class AAA state title — Henton enjoys adulation. But he insists he is not driven by it. "His humbleness is going to take him a long way," said his father, Anthony Simmons.
"My mom always told me that football is not everything and that an education is important and treating people right is important," Henton, 18 said. "I've always remembered that."
Henton has committed to Ohio State, where he'll likely redshirt his freshman year and take over as the Buckeyes' starting quarterback in 2007. "Antonio's a Big Ten player," Gillespie said.
He is close to his parents and five siblings and once thought he'd attend either Georgia or Florida, which would have suited his family just fine. But neither offered a scholarship.
"I'd rather he be closer, but he visited Ohio State and felt comfortable up there," Debra Henton, his mother, said. "It's not like he's sleeping over someone's house and will be back the next day. I'm going to miss him, but I know he's going to be all right."
Henton said he looks forward to starting a new life far from Peach County. "I love the people here," he said. "It's home. It's something I'm going to really miss.
"But I figure they have everything we have here, only it's better up there in Ohio. I went up there in the summer and had a fun time. I took a journey around the campus and enjoyed it. And I like all the coaches. It's snowing up there right now, but I can get used to that."
Gillespie became used to watching Henton awe onlookers. So comfortable was the coach that he allowed his quarterback to call the plays at the line of scrimmage from a short list of options.
"For high schools, our verbiage is very involved," Gillespie said. "It's very complicated. But we've been spoiled with the amount of it that Antonio can handle. People came to expect him to make plays. And he did."
Biggest day on big stage
For sure. He lists his four-touchdown performance — two passing, two rushing — against LaGrange in the semifinal game at the Georgia Dome as his signature effort.
"It was at the Dome, for a chance to get to the championship," Henton said. "We had to have that game."
"In 1991, we were USA Today national champions and we had a quarterback, Rodney Hudson, who led us," LaGrange coach Steve Pardue said. "Rodney was maybe the best high school quarterback I've ever seen. After we lost to Peach, I got home and my wife said she saw Rodney Hudson [in the stands] at the Dome. I told her, 'I did, too — and he wore No. 7 for Peach County.' That's one of the best compliments I can give the young man. Just a great player. He's talented and smart and fundamentally sound."
To become a Peach County folk hero, Henton — with help from star talents Chris Slaughter and Duranzo Brown, among others — had to lead the Trojans to the title the next week against Dougherty. Henton directed a gem. This time, he again rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two in the 35-14 victory. Hero status confirmed.
"We go about viewing our quarterback position this way: Do you want to be an athlete or do you want to be a quarterback?" Gillespie said. "Antonio, although a great athlete, is a quarterback."
Inexplicably, with all has he accomplished this year, Henton was left off the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) all-star team. "At first, I didn't get it," he said. "But my coach told me to not worry about it and that we had a championship, which is better."
Asked how his peers could have excluded Henton as an all-star, Gillespie said: "No comment."
Then he smiled. "Antonio's the best quarterback in the state," he said.