Henry Clay’s Jacob Childress named WKYT Athlete of the Week

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - In Henry Clay’s 20-point win over Lafayette, the game plan was simple, hand Jacob Childress the ball, and get out of the way.

“Yeah, you know, hand it to him and let him do what he does,” said Henry Clay head coach Demetrius Gay. “That’s the game plan.”

The senior running back racked up 292 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

“The second half, actually, we had something going on with our receivers like we just couldn’t catch the ball; balls were getting fumbled or intercepted,” said Childress. “We had two interceptions. So coach just decided to just give me the ball and let me do my thing.”

“Thirty-four carries is a lot,” said Gay. “You usually don’t see that too much in high school nowadays. You spread the ball around. You know the offensive coaches had a good gameplan and saw something that we liked and just stuck with it.”

“It was very tiring,” said Childress. “I needed constant breaks like every 20 yards I would get, I would need a break.”

Childress has been the Blue Devils’ workhorse back all season long. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound back has a running style similar to a few of his favorite NFL players.

“Saquan Barkley or Derek Henry, really both of them,” said Childress.

Henry Clay has a 3-4 record this season, and Childress knows it will take a team effort to be successful, but he’s willing to carry the rock as often as he’s needed.

“It’s a lot of pressure, but I’m glad I could handle it for that game,” said Childress. “I’m glad that I got through it and got us the win. It felt good scoring.”

“There’s no I; it’s what can we do,” said Gay. “I think playing for one another is what they like to do.”

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