Jarrett Henry
HENRY HOPES HIS IMPACT RAISES STANDARD AT PALESTINE
BY JUWAN LEE
Senior offensive lineman Jarrett Henry knew at the age of six he was destined to play football .
He watched his older cousin , Casey Henry , sport the maroon and white for the Palestine Wildcats growing up . Casey helped command Palestine ’ s offensive line during the 2009-10 season – just as his younger cousin Jarrett would do 10 years later .
“ I was around him a lot growing up ,” Henry said . “ I came to all of his games . I watched him and told myself I was going to be like him when I grown up .”
Jarrett Henry got his first start on varsity his sophomore year . It was also head coach Lance Angel ’ s first year back with the Wildcat program . Admittedly , the brightness and intensity of Friday night lights overwhelmed Henry .
He had gone from the junior varsity level to now making his first career start against a Waco Connally team who went on to lose only game that year .
“ I don ’ t know if I was really ready for varsity ,” Henry said . “ I was still timid and a little scared of the game . But when you begin to get in the moment all that starts to go away .”
The moments were sweet for the young sophomore player . He helped lead former Wildcat running back Jeremiah Davis to the second 2,000-yard rushing season in school history , was apart of the deepest Palestine playoff run since 2004 and was an honorable mention all-district player .
“ I want to relive those moments ,” Henry said . It was a fun year for us as a program and being around some of the leaders of that team . That year has definitely motivated me moving forward .”
The Wildcats enter his junior year looking to build on top of 2019 ’ s success . Henry fully committed himself to football and dropped his other passion of baseball . Although the Wildcats were unable to get past the bi-district round , his commitment paid off .
He was selected to his first all-state team by the Texas Sports Writers Association and received a first team all-district nod .
Entering his senior year , Henry stands as one of the few core members from 2019 ’ s historic team . Also in that core group are Mason Mitchell and Kaleb Hagans – who have all started on Palestine ’ s offensive line since their sophomore year .
“ We ’ ve built a brotherhood ,” Henry said . “ We want this season to be great more than anyone . We want to get this group going in the right direction . It ’ s been fun meeting some of the role models that have come through this program . Now I ’ m in that spot you hope they look at you the way we looked at Jeremiah Davis or Quinton Cook .”
Henry believes a standard has been left from the previous senior classes that he hopes will continue this year and after he is gone . Not only is he motivated to get rid of the “ bad taste ” of last year ’ s playoff loss , but he also hopes to build a solid resume for his chance to play at the collegiate level . He has offers from Arkansas Tech , Howard Payne University and the University of
“ I ’ M EXCITED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL WE HAVE , I ’ M GRATEFUL FOR THE CAREER I ’ VE HAD , BUT THERE ’ S MORE WORK TO DO ”
St . Thomas . He ’ s also listed as a top-25 player in East Texas by various media platforms .
Even still , his job this year is to make an impact for this Wildcat program .
“ I ’ m excited about the potential we have ,” Henry said . “ I ’ m grateful for the career I ’ ve had , but there ’ s more work to do .”