Football is a brotherhood. For two Woodhaven Warriors players, that bond is rooted deep within them. Quarterback Dom Davis and running back Devin Henry have been playing football since the eighth grade, and now in their senior year, the final year of playing together, they are looking toward one goal: a state championship.
The two Woodhaven boys say even though they’ve been playing football together since the eighth grade, their friendship dates back much further. “I’ve known Dom since first grade.” Devin Henry said when we sat down with the backfield duo. Both players went to Yake Elementary school. “We’d be out at recess, I’d be running back, and he’d play Quarterback,” according to Henry, a foreshadowing of what these two would play come to high school. Davis said, “Building that connection early is huge.” Davis added, “We are both big competitors, and when we get together, we just want the best for our team, which is to go out and do anything for our team.”
According to Davis, both he and Henry push each other hard, making them better players. Henry said, “When one of us gets stopped, the other is gonna score.” Davis added, “Dev just makes my life easier.”
Woodhaven is coming into this game against Carlson, sitting at 6-2 (6-1 in League) with a chance to win the Downriver League. Their only league loss came in week six versus Trenton. That game was at Trenton on their homecoming, and it was also Henry’s first game back in three and a half weeks. Henry said, “I feel like it was kinda hard,” talking about shaking off the rust.” Henry added “I didn’t know what to expect; even before the injury, I wasn’t playing 100 percent healthy.” In between the random laughing of Henry and Davis that made everything light, Davis said, “Dev is our best player,” Davis continued. “We all know that he is going to give it his best every day.” On that loss, Davis said, “We just came out flat.” Now that Henry is back, it’s a game changer. According to Davis, sharing the same backfield with Henry “takes a lot of workload off of me.”
Any play that either of the two makes the other is confident in the ability of the other. Davis said, “I’m confident any time he’s getting the ball.” he continued by saying, “I’m not questioning it.” Henry then gushed over his quarterback, jumping at the bit to talk about his friend. Henry spoke about the first game this season, saying that there were two plays that made his jaw drop and said, “Wow, that’s my quarterback.” The first play was a 70-yard touchdown run. The second play was seeing Davis “Hit-stick,” a player. Henry said, “I’ve never seen a QB do this type of stuff.”
With their rivalry game coming up this week versus Gibraltar Carlson, the duo is ready for some payback. Last year Carlson went to Woodhaven and beat them for the first time since 2017 to help give Carlson a share of the Downriver League. That loss left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth of both players as Henry said, “That loss humbled us greatly.” Henry continued, “We thought we were the shit, but it showed us what we needed to work on.” Henry then talked about this year’s matchup. “We are coming back, and we are coming back hard,” he went on to say, “We know how good they are, but we know we’re better.” adding some fuel to the rivalry fire Henry said, “We are gonna run up the score.” Davis then gave Carlson props by saying, “We know that they will be the best team we play in the league,” he added, “We just have to do our thing, and we will come out on top.” Henry finished by saying, “I feel we have the best backfield in the state.”
This week’s game is for the Downriver League title, and both Henry and Davis talked about legacy and what an outright title would mean to them, Henry said, “It would be a huge confidence boost.” Davis added, “It would mean a lot to our school and our program.”
The possible first-round matchup for Woodhaven is against the defending division 1 state champion Belleville Tigers. While that is a big task for any team, neither Davis nor Henry is scared of that possible matchup, with both players echoing the same sentiment if they take care of business, the Warriors can come out firing and shock the state.
What’s Next?
Dom Davis is still uncommitted to college. Devin Henry committed to Ferris State late last week to continue his athletic and academic career.