Football: Malik Henry is wise beyond his years

Malik Henry might be an underclassmen, but the junior quarterback for Westlake did not appear to be inexperienced during the first half of Friday night’s nonleague game against Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium on the campus of Long Beach City College.

Thanks in part to his direction, the Warriors went toe to toe with the favored Jackrabbits and ended up with a 17-14 lead at halftime. Henry completed 7 of 11 passes for 111 yards. He rushed for 23 yards in three carries and scored on a five-yard run in the second quarter.

His counterpart, Josh Love, was no slouch. Far from it, in fact. The senior for Long Beach Poly helped his team rally from a 14-point deficit. He completed 12 of 17 passes for 155 yards yards and two touchdowns, a 25-yarder to Johnnie Rucker and a 22-yarder to Dae’John Jeffrey Logan.

Truth be told, the fact that Henry did well should not come as a surprise considering he’s among the nation’s more highly touted recruits in the class of 2016. It will be interesting to see if Henry plays well enough in the second half to put Westlake in position for the upset.

Sean Ceglinsky has covered sports in the Southland for the better part of the past 15-plus years. Follow him on Twitter: @SeanCeglinsky