Hendricks scores dominant season for Hawks

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

The Holy Cross Collegiate Hawks reached the B-side playoffs in their inaugural season of Alberta 6 Man Football League play, thanks in part to their bankable running back.
Grade 11 student Jayden Hendricks grew up watching football on Sundays with his family, cheering on the New England Patriots to Super Bowls and idolizing players with the Minnesota Vikings. Little did he know he would transform into the Hawks version of Tom Brady or Adrian Peterson.
“I always wanted to play. I was very happy when the program opened at HCC,” said Hendricks.
The path to the B playoffs began last spring, when the Hawks coaching staff of Michael Annicchiarico, Josh Jalbert and Ben Chin held a jamboree that featured practices, scrimmages and even an exhibition game.
“Right away, we could tell with his size, his athletic ability and his desire to play that he was going to be one of our stronger players,” said defensive coordinator and HCC athletic director Jalbert.
Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing in around 210 with a stocky build, Hendricks was built to level defensive lines.
Like a boulder tumbling down a hill, Hendricks was a north-south runner at the beginning of the year, welcoming contact at the line of scrimmage and blasting through them with a head of steam.
“His power stuck out to us at the beginning. He wasn’t the fastest kid we’ve seen, but he is a big boy and he knew how to be physical from his hockey background,” said Hawks special teams coach Chin.
Raised in Strathmore, Hendricks has been a rink rat every winter. He currently plays for the Midget A Strathmore Storm as a winger.
“He certainly doesn’t shy away from the physical part. He is willing to go out and be aggressive, searching for contact,” said Jalbert.
Hendricks was a touchdown factory this season and was responsible for basically all of the Hawks touchdowns, highlighted by an eight TD performance Oct. 21 in a victory over the Our Lady of Mount Pleasant Royals.
“We started challenging guys in practice and encouraged them to be creative when they had the ball in their hands. That’s when Jayden started to develop these jukes and side-step moves,” said Jalbert. “We put them in one-on-one drills and told them to make the defender miss.”
Slowly, Hendricks began mixing in more of an east-west style game to patch along with his downward running style.
He turned into more of a racehorse than a plough horse; he began running around guys, instead of just straight through them.
Other teams certainly began to realize who was carrying the ball for the Hawks.
“Coaches would come up to us and compliment him: ‘Man, that 82 is one heck of a player,’” said Annicchiarico.
Even with all his success in the end zone, he never danced or popped off with an exuberant touchdown, and is always grounded during postgame interviews.
“He is all business on the field. He has a lot of experience from playing other sports to know how to handle himself and to lead by example. He knows the guys feed off him and he has become more of a leader as the year progressed,” said Chin.
Humble until the end: “I can’t do most of what I’ve done if I don’t get the great blocking from my teammates. They have put me in position to succeed,” said Hendricks.
“He loves it and he cherishes it. He wants the ball in his hands and wants to carry the team,” said Jalbert.
Playing both sides of the ball, Hendricks was relied on to be one of the bigger plugs in the Hawks defensive core.
After he was done scampering into the end zone, Hendricks can often be found on defence at the bottom of the scrum trying to recover a fumble. Playing both ways as a linebacker, he was the quarterback on defence.
“His ability to read plays, play aggressive at his big size while keeping his eyes on the quarterback at all times allowed him to succeed defensively,” said Jalbert. “He has great knowledge for the flow of the game and what is going on.”
While football isn’t new to Hendricks, his meteoric rise as an elite tailback has made life difficult in regards to which sports path to follow.
He missed snaps this season due to his hockey commitment and wonders what type of commitment crunch it would be if he suited up for the SCFA Badgers next season.
But those are worries for a much later time. As for right now, Hendricks is focused on leading his team into the playoffs, along with his studies.
Like most kids, Hendricks would like to continue playing sports as long as he can, but sees himself getting into education one day, becoming a teacher.