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DEL.ICIO.USFormer Wolf vows to not let mother down
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Mikey Henderson takes the field for the Georgia Bulldogs, he still looks for his mother. But Henderson does not have to scour the stands. He just peeps into his heart.
That’s where Louise Henderson, who died last spring, shall forever be.
“When I’m not on the field, it affects me in a sad way,” Henderson says. “On the field, I’m going to always work my hardest. You know how they say, ‘Character is what you do when nobody’s looking?’ Well that’s how I feel.
“Even though she is gone, I don’t want to let my mother down.”
Let all Dawgs faithful say amen to that.
Mikey Henderson has made bigger catches, including ones for touchdowns during his glory days as Buford marched to state supremacy. However, the one Henderson made Saturday at Tennessee, considering the circumstances, may have been the grandest grab of his football life.
Although scarcely noted in the next day’s coverage, Henderson proved a catalyst in a moment that set Georgia up to make a national championship run. When Henderson caught a Bulldogs punt and downed it at the Vols’ 1, he positioned Georgia to take command of the pivotal SEC contest.
The Dawgs’ defense, and Thomas Brown, would do just that. With Tennessee hemmed in and forced to punt from its end zone, Brown brought the kick back 54 yards for the game-turning score in Georgia’s 27-14 win.
All sparked by a little guy who could not quit.
“Compared to catching a TD in high school, that play really ranks way up there,” says the 5-foot-10, 154-pound Henderson. “But it’s not hard for me to get up for playing on special teams. Because I know I’m only going to get four or five reps to contribute and help my team.
“I want to show people that coming from little Buford High School — we can play ball, too. And being a little guy, I want people to believe in me.”
They certainly do in Buford.
A two-time all-state performer, Henderson helped the Wolves go 43-2 and earn three state title-game appearances, including championships in 2001 and 2002. He grabbed 15 TD passes during Buford’s title runs, returned three kicks for scores and intercepted three passes as a senior.
Little wonder the redshirt sophomore, who broke an ankle in 2004, says: “I wish I could go back and relive those times. I miss the life I had in Buford.”
Particularly the bond he shared with Louise Henderson, who adopted Mikey when he was 8 days old. “By the time I was in kindergarten, I knew everything about that. It didn’t change anything. She is my mother.”
A single parent who worked three jobs, Louise Henderson suffered a heart attack in May and died eight days later. She left Mikey, along with his sister, Kimberly Henderson, and grandmother, Carolyn Jackson, to relish her memory.
“She would sacrifice herself for me,” he says. “If money ever was an issue, she didn’t let me know about it. I see that now. That’s why I have to carry on. Her passing hasn’t left any [financial] void, just feelings and emotional ones.
“I’m really doing good. I wish things weren’t the way they are, but… . Perseverance, that’s a great virtue to have, and a necessity.”
That’s what Mikey Henderson’s mother taught him.
And it’s written upon his heart.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: J.C. Clemons
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By Vance Beckham
October 13, 2005 12:06 PM | Link to this
If you’re talking about the punt return to make the score 20-7, it was Flowers who returned it. Thomas Brown scored the final TD on an 18 yard run. Henderson did make a great stop at the 1 yard line though as did Gilliam on another punt.
By shannon
October 17, 2005 03:16 PM | Link to this
Yes, Flowers returned it. Mikey downed it on the 1 yard line after a 4th down loss. This story is correct and about Mikey - not the other players. Then again, if you aren’t a Buford and UGA fan, you may not have noticed like we all did.