
Report by Isaac Robinson - September 1st, 2019

B.J. Henderson had a career day
Henderson posts career day with 407 total yards, 6 TD, no turnovers -- Xavier Meeks shines in his first game at WR -- Swarm hold Ryan Mitchell to just 7.5 yards per completion
Reno, NV -- New year, new B.J. Henderson? The junior looked phenomenal in training camp, and showed he's for real as he posted a gaudy statline of 266 passing yards (19 of 22!), 4 passing scores, 141 rushing yards, and 2 rushing scores as his Westlake State Swarm took down the Nevada Wolf Pack in Reno by a final score of 55 to 31.
It was actually close in the 1st quarter, with each team scoring 7 points. But Westlake State owned the second, as they would score 3 touchdowns, 2 via the air and one on the ground as both Nic Johnson and Ricky Alston caught their first career touchdowns. Nevada scored 10 in the frame with Derek Anderson scoring on the ground, making it 28-17 at the half in favor of the Swarm.
Westlake State took over from here. After Ryan Mitchell completed a few passes, he underthrew a corner route, allowing Jeremy Jackson to grab his first career INT. Westlake State looked like they'd stall, as they were faced with a tough 3rd and 9 from the 36. But Henderson had other plans, as he evaded the pressure and then showed off his athleticism, juking a pair of defenders and taking it the distance for a huge touchdown run. The teams would then exchange punts, and Nevada would cut the lead to 11 as Mitchell found the endzone from 22 yards out on an option keeper, but that was as close as this game would be. Henderson found Robert Coley open deep off a play-fake on the ensuing drive for a 51 yard score, and the Swarm never looked back.


Mitchell had his man open, but this was a bad underthrow
Nevada punted again, and Westlake State scored again, with Henderson once again capping the drive himself, scrambling for a 3 yard score on 3rd and goal. Nevada scored again, as Mitchell scored an almost identical TD on another option keeper, but it was too little, too late for his Wolf Pack. Westlake State recovered the onside kick, and after Xavier Meeks picked up 27 on an option pitch, Henderson found him on the very next play for a 19 yard score.
We got to see some of Henderson's potential replacement in a year or two, as redshirt freshman Barrett Phillips got to play out the remainder of the game. He didn't lead his team to any points, as Joe Romero put a field goal off of the right post, but Phillips did complete the only pass he threw, a 4 yarder to tailback Frank Nelson.
The main story will be Henderson's play, but I want to highlight Xavier Meeks: the junior had 6 grabs for 135 yards and a score in his first game at receiver after switching from QB. He also had the aforementioned 27 yard run, where he broke 3 tackles and needed just one more block to be home free. Westlake State doesn't have a true #1 yet, so Meeks could make that spot his.

Xavier Meeks catches his first career score
We caught up with a cheerful Dion Barkley after the game.
The Swarm have their home opener next week, playing 0-1 Boise State.




Photo Gallery






Comment