Henry County football uses same trick play two years in a row for OT win, this time vs Beech

HENDERSONVILLE — Why break from what's fast becoming tradition for Henry County football?

For the second time in as many years, Henry County coach James Counce Jr. rolled the dice in overtime with a halfback reverse two-point conversion pass, also known as the "Philly Special", to knock off Beech 46-45 in overtime Friday night in a Region 7-5A game.

It's the exact same play that the Patriots used to beat Springfield in overtime during the 2022 season. And Counce, again, trusted that his team could withstand the pressure knowing if they failed, they would have squandered a game in which Henry County (7-1, 4-0) rallied from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit.

"Obviously we like that play," Counce said. "And that trust factor is huge. We've run it before. We've been successful with it and I knew we could do it again. We took a timeout, there, just like last year and the kids, just like last year, wanted to go for it. So it was either we win or lose on that play."

Last year it was Jayce Kendall's halfback toss to quarterback Ryan Damron in OT that sealed the Patriots' win. Friday it was running back Peyten Littleton's toss to fullback Brock Archie that clinched it.

"If Peyten was going to throw it, it was coming to me," Archie said. "I knew that going into the play. Once he rolled out and slipped behind the linebacker every thing went into slow motion. It felt like the ball was taking forever to get to me."

Henry County quarterback Caden Marshall was used as decoy on the play as Counce figured Beech would be focused on the Patriots star who had already carried the ball 29 times for 172 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He also threw for a TD. Marshall rolled left before handing off to Littleton on the reverse. Beech's defense followed Marshall but couldn't recover as Littleton found Archie alone on the opposite side of the field in the end zone.

"I did have the option to run it, depending on the linebacker," Littleton said. "But he came up to get me and I just made the pass."

It was a crushing finish for Beech (3-4, 2-1).

"I can tell you one thing, we'll likely see (Beech) again," said Counce, whose team beat Beech twice in 2018, including in the 5A playoff semifinal. "Our two teams are very similar in our approach, but I don't know that we'll ever run that play again this year."

Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football: Henry County beats Beech in OT on Philly Special