’26 defensive star accounted for 40% of the team’s total QB-sacks in ’24
🎶Joshua fit the battle of Jericho,
And the walls came tumbling down...🎶
Jay Roberts, 1865
Henderson County has had years where they were really dad-burn good. We all remember Coach Randy Reese and his Henderson County teams which were ranked number one in the commonwealth in both ’87 and ’88. We all also remember Coach Reese winning five (5) district titles for the Colonels, more than any coach either prior or since. Reese was at Henderson County from 1987-1994 before taking the job at Warren East in 1995. Henderson County went 7-5 in 2021 and then followed that up with a 10-win campaign the following year (10-3) both under former coach Josh Boston. While the Colonels have been very good previously, they haven’t been as good in 2023 and 2024 as the fans demand. Enter new coach John Elliott, an inductee into the Indiana Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2023. This isn’t Coach Elliott’s first foray on the staff at Henderson County and he will have some interesting pieces with which to work. One of the pieces is the Colonel “Sack-Master” Jericho Butler. Let’s see 🎶Joshua fit the battle [with this] Jericho.” The walls may come tumbling down, once more.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”
Henderson, KY: It is hard to pigeon hole exactly where Jericho Butler played a year ago on the Henderson County defense. Sometimes Butler was a linebacker. Sometimes Butler was an end.
Butler seemed to remain perpetually in the opponent’s backfield wreaking havoc. Butler should have just joined the huddle.
Butler aligned a season ago wherever the defense needed him. This resulted in his registering 51-tackles, a forced fumble, three (3) fumble recoveries, and a whopping six (6) QB-sacks.
Now before you roll your eyes at six (6) QB-sacks, we might mention the entire team registered 15 on the year. That would make Butler account for 40% of the team’s total outlay of sacks. That is pretty dad-burn impressive, to us anyway.
Now the team didn’t register any TFLs (tackles for loss) for a single player a season ago. This must have been a statistic the Colonels declined to monitor. We would wager, quite a bit, Butler would have registered more than a few TFLs to go along with his sacks but, alas; we may never know for sure.
Butler account for 40% of the defense’s 15-QB sacks in ’24
KHSAA Statistical Website
Henderson hired John Elliott to take the reins of the program moving forward. According to an article written by Messrs. Michael Gross and Isaiah Calalang for Tristatehomepage.com we found online, Elliott previously spent two stints with the Colonels, both as an assistant. Elliott told Gross and Calalang that, this time around, Elliott wants to instill “The County Way” to his program moving forward.
“I’m not going to treat it any different[ly] than I did when I was [before] here…Whether you’re the head coach, defensive coordinator, or defensive line coach, [I] was a coach. I always looked at it that way. I’ve been in a head coach at five different schools, and I’ve been an assistant….[C]oaching is coaching.”
Elliott has served 48-years at both the high school and collegiate levels in Indiana and Kentucky. Make no mistake, he is well qualified for this post and someone expected to do very well with his new team.
Lucky for Coach Elliott, there is talent left in the cupboard. His young “Sack-Master,” Jericho Butler, certainly counts among the number of the talented.
As Jay Roberts copyrighted back in 1865, 🎶You may talk about the kings of Gideon,/You may talk about the man of Saul,/ But there’s none like old [Jericho Butler]…🎶 at least not one who could account for 40% of the team’s QB-sacks.
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball and KPI Newspaper Group, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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