Henderson, Brown inducted into Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame

October 23, 2023 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

A pair of Cartersville High School football standouts were inducted into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame this past Saturday night in ceremonies held at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Former Hurricanes Keith Henderson and Ronnie Brown were among the 40 new members chosen from a 100-player ballot for the Hall of Fame Class 2023. The new members join the 45 players inducted in the 2022 inaugural class.

Henderson was one of four players from the 1980s decade included in the 2023 class. Brown, who played in the 1990s at Cartersville, was included with 13 other players from that decade.

Henderson was a rare three-time first-team all-state running back (1982-84) at Cartersville and was a Parade All-American and the AJC’s all-classification player of the year in 1984. As a senior, he rushed for 2,046 yards and 20 touchdowns on 191 carries in only 10 games for a team that ironically didn’t make the playoffs in an era when only region champions qualified for state. He rushed for 5,872 yards, scored 60 touchdowns in his career, and compiled 6,937 all-purpose yards, including receiving, passing, and return yards. Henderson rushed for a single-game state record 432 yards against Cass in 1984 and was featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd for the feat. Henderson led the University of Georgia in rushing as a true freshman (731 yards) and finished with 1,648 yards despite missing his junior season with a knee injury. The San Francisco 49ers drafted Henderson in the third round. He was the team’s leading rusher (531 yards) in 1991 on a team that featured Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Henderson played four NFL seasons including a stint with the Minnesota Vikings.

Brown was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft and enjoyed a 10-year NFL career. A standout running back at Cartersville High, he led the Canes to the 1999 Class AA title. During that championship season, Brown rushed for 1,931 yards and 25 touchdowns with 343 receiving yards and three touchdowns while snagging three interceptions on defense. In the 27-21 victory over Hart County in the AA final, Brown rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. The Georgia Sports Writers named Brown their Class AA Player of the Year. Brown went to Auburn, where he rushed for 2,707 career yards, which ranks seventh in school history. Brown rushed for 913 yards on Auburn’s 2004 13-0 SEC championship team that also featured running back Cadillac Williams. Their 2,078 yards together made the pair college football’s top backfield duo. Both went in the top five of the 2005 NFL Draft – Brown at No. 2 and Williams at No. 5. Brown, a 10-year NFL veteran, played with the Dolphins, Eagles, Chargers, and Texans. He rushed for 5,391 yards and 38 touchdowns for his career and added 1,966 receiving yards. He made the Pro Bowl in 2008.

The complete list of those inducted into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame is available at GeorgiaHighSchoolFootballDaily.com .