Hendrickson tabbed small school Player of the Year

As a junior, Nathan Hendrickson had a pretty good year by his own account.

Hendrickson led Freeport with 18 rushing touchdowns but, as he is quick to point out, he “didn’t break 1,000 yards” as the Bulldogs finished 5-4. It marked the first non-losing season since 2003 but, more than anything, it left Hendrickson dissatisfied.

“My main goal was to come back and have a better season than last year,” Hendrickson said. “I wanted to up my yardage.”

In 2009, Hendrickson did that and then some in rushing for a Freeport single-season record 1,557 yards and 13 touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to the program’s first-ever district title and an appearance in the Class A state semifinals.

For his part, Hendrickson has been named the All Sports Association/Daily News small school Football Player of the Year, edging out teammate and Freeport quarterback Cole Weeks and Walton quarterback Liam Miller.

Hendrickson terrorized opposing defenses all season with his blend of speed and surprising power packed tightly in his modest frame.

“The key thing with Nathan was the ability on any play to break a long run,” Freeport coach Jim Anderson said. “We had other guys with good speed, too, but he was so fast he could turn a 3-yard gain into an 80-yard gain.

“ … From an opposing defense’s view, they had to be concerned with that. His speed opened up things for our other players.”

Hendrickson was the centerpiece of a Bulldogs’ offense that torched defenses and often turned a Friday night under the lights into something that more closely resembled a track meet.

As it turned out, it was a series of 40-yard races Hendrickson competed in while attending a football camp at DeLand last summer that provided a preview of coming attractions for the Freeport senior. Lined up against some of the premier rising seniors in the state, Hendrickson beat them all group by group on his way to being named the fastest player at the camp.

It’s a story Anderson seemed to relish retelling more and more as the season unfolded. For Hendrickson, it was merely part of the process.

“I learned so much,” Hendrickson said of a summer spent on the camp circuit. “How to cut, how to set up a block, how to hold the ball, everything.”

Those lessons proved paramount once the months of June and July gave way to October and November. Hendrickson ran for 152 yards in a win over Northview, then gashed Holmes County for 230 yards and three touchdowns on his way to becoming the school’s all-time leading career rusher with 2,607 yards.

But as Hendrickson prepares for the next stage of his football career, it isn’t the yards piled up or the touchdowns celebrated that he will remember most. Instead, it will be the time he spent inside that Freeport locker room with teammates and friends after each and every Friday night of what turned out to be a historic senior season.

“We still talk about it,” Hendrickson said of the Bulldogs’ run. “It’s awesome. To look back and see we only won three games my freshman year, my sophomore year we won two … it’s awesome.”

Offensive Player of the Year: Liam Miller, Walton

Talk about making a strong first impression. In just his first season as the starting quarterback at Walton, Miller threw for a school-record 3,178 yards in the Braves’ pass-first, pass-second offense. The junior completed 63 percent of his passes and finished the season with 27 touchdowns and just nine interceptions.

Offensive Lineman of the Year: Daniel Davis, Freeport

Davis, or “Dunkin” as he has affectionately been called for his alleged affinity for donuts, was anything but soft in the trenches for the Bulldogs. Davis was a stabilizing force on a Freeport offensive line that paved the way for a ground game that bulldozed its way to over 2,500 yards and an offense that was among the area’s highest scoring units.

Defensive Player of the Year: Keith Stewart, SW

South Walton made its second straight playoff appearance thanks in large part to a revitalized defense, and at the heart of that resurgence was Stewart. The Seahawks’ ball-hawking linebacker tallied 110 tackles and was a key cog in a defensive unit that was called on to close out tight games.

Defensive Lineman of the Year: Marrion Holmes, Walton

Walton coach Lenny Jankowski referred to Holmes as “a beast” and “a tank” for his play along the Braves’ defensive front. Holmes, who weighs in at 305 pounds, missed three games this season yet still racked up 75 tackles, six tackles for a loss, two and a half sacks and two fumble recoveries from his nose guard position.

Daily News All-Area Football Team

Small schools (1A-2A)

Player of the Year: Nathan Hendrickson, Freeport

Offensive Player of the Year: Liam Miller, Walton

Defensive Player of the Year: Keith Stewart, SW

Offensive Lineman of the Year: Daniel Davis, Freeport

Defensive Lineman of the Year: Marrion Holmes, Walton

Coach of the Year: Jim Anderson, Freeport

First team

Offense

QB – Cole Weeks, Freeport

QB – Liam Miller, Walton

RB – Nathan Hendrickson, Freeport

RB – Cody Binder, Freeport

RB – Chris Shock, SW

WR – Nick Ellington, Freeport

WR – Corliss Stone, Walton

WR – Brandt Ellenberg, Walton

OL – Daniel Davis, Freeport

OL – Mason Doggette, Baker

OL – Chris Gladney, Walton

OL – Shawn Josey, RBCS

OL – Carlton Seilhan, SW

OL – Gavin Scott, Freeport

AP – Tray Williams, Walton

AP – James Waldron, RBCS

K – Jonathan O’Hara, SW

Defense

DL – Marrion Holmes, Walton

DL – Jacob Lawson, Baker

DL – Deon Lee, Walton

DL – Quinston Morris, SW

DL – Gavin Scott, Freeport

LB – David Beck, Baker

LB – Cody Binder, Freeport

LB – Nick Hooter, Freeport

LB – Keith Stewart, SW

LB – T.C. Chestnut, Walton

DB – Dakota Hooper, Baker

DB – Steven Myrick, Walton

DB – D.J. Striedel, SW

DB – Caleb McCormick, Freeport

AP – John Querisma, Walton

AP – Bryant Adams, SW

P – Cole Weeks, Freeport

Honorable Mention

Baker: Vada Moore, Dillion Cotten, Justyn Lewis-Washington, Christian Mainor

Freeport: Tyler Adams, Justin Farmer, Paul Holmes, Damen Reynolds, Kevin Scott, David Wesson, Brandon Wood

RBCS: Eddie Owens

SW: Alex Carroll, Jay Gatto

Walton: Alex Brack, McLeod Cosson, Craig Darity, Aaron Ealum, Chris Hall, Dalton Huffman, Shaquille Huffman, Dalvon Stuckey