GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Sandon Yarto, McAllen High’s leading rusher last week, didn’t have a carry in the team’s first three games. Gunnar Henderson, the Bulldog’s leading receiver last week, wasn’t even on the roster until Week 4.
McHi’s offense has come up against some turbulence this season, unable to get rolling consistently as the team has started just 1-4. But with Yarto coming into his own at a new position and Henderson back with the team after opening the year at Brownsville St. Joseph, coach Kevin Brewer has reasons for optimism heading into a rivalry clash with McAllen Memorial on Friday.
“I don’t care what the record looks like,” Brewer said. “I like where this football team is at right now.”
In the spring, Henderson was projected as the next focal point of the offense, tagged to step up as the primary running back for his junior year.
But Henderson decided in June to move to St. Joseph, lured by the strong football program and prospect of going to a top-tier college after graduation. Henderson said a major factor in the move was listening to those in the media and around him who said changing schools was a good idea without considering how the move would impact him on a personal level.
“I shouldn’t have done it,” Henderson said. “I should’ve talked to my teammates, and I should’ve talked to my coaches here. I made a mistake.”
Henderson said he lives just two minutes from McAllen High, compared to the daily hour-long drives to and from St. Joseph.
He also came to dread being away from the family and friends he had grown up with, including his sister Westyn, a freshman at McHi.
“The biggest thing was I missed my guys here, and my family,” Henderson said. “I missed the coaches who put in time for me and helped raise me. They care for me as more than a football player. They care for me as a person. They care for me as a student. They care for me just in general. I feel like I betrayed them, and I regret it 100 percent, but I can’t go back and change that.”
Henderson enrolled at McAllen High on Sept. 12, then had three weeks to reintegrate before his debut against La Joya High on Friday. He played defensive back with McAllen High as a sophomore, but used the spring to pick up running back and added receiver and wildcat quarterback after his return.
In his first game back, he ran five times for 20 yards with a touchdown and caught two passes for 54 yards and another score.
“He brings an explosive aspect to our offense,” Brewer said. “Big play ability. It really opens up a lot of things for our offense.”
When Henderson left, Mark Martinez took on a role as McHi’s primary running back. And with Martinez kept out of the past two games by a high ankle sprain, Yarto has stepped into his place.
Yarto, a senior, opened the season at tight end and still ranks as McHi’s leading receiver with 9 catches for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns. But on Friday, he was the Bulldogs’ leading rusher, with 16 carries for 63 yards.
“It’s been great,” Brewer said. “Sandon is a smart kid. He picked it up really fast. He runs hard. He’s a good athlete. We didn’t miss a beat with him back there.”
Yarto said he had fun in the new role, which he had been practicing for three weeks leading up to Friday. Given his familiarity with the offensive line scheme and blocking assignments, he said the transition was easy.
Being in a different position has given Yarto a newfound respect for running backs, specifically how patient they have to be as plays develop. “I always saw running backs and I was like, ‘The only reason you guys do what you do is because of the O-line,’” Yarto said. “But no, it is a very difficult position.”
“I always pictured ball snapped, and you just book it,” Yarto added. “And then you just run and there will magically be a hole right there. But no, that is not the case. It was very different.”
Coming from tight end, Yarto said physical running was instinctive. With time, he’s looking to improve his balance and find more cutback opportunities.
If Yarto can help McHi establish a running game, it will eliminate the problem he, Henderson and Brewer all flagged as the Bulldogs’ biggest issue: getting behind on first down via penalties or negative plays.
“Those are correctable things, and we’re working to correct those all the time,” Brewer said. “Once we do that and we stay normal on our down and distance, we’re going to be fine.”