Student from Germany likes other football, too
By Steve Williams
Karl Henkenjohann has enjoyed being a foreign exchange student this school year at South-Doyle High and the Cherokees, particularly the football and soccer teams, have enjoyed him and his contributions.
The 17-year-old junior arrived to Knoxville last June from Germany. His host parents are Geni and Ron Nery.
Karl was introduced to the game of American football and turned into a varsity starter on the defensive line midway through the season. He also was “a dude” on the kicking team, said Larry Headrick, who was in his first season as a head coach.
“He started out as a kicker and the crazy thing is he had never kicked a football, but kicked a 55-yard field goal,” said Headrick. “He also kicked in a JV game and hit a 50-yard field goal. So it was like, man this cat could be pretty good.”
Coach Headrick already had a good place-kicker last season, but needed another body on the kickoff team. He asked Karl if he would like to do that.
“Coach, I don’t know what that is,” answered Karl.
“I said buddy all you got to do is run down the field, hit somebody and make a tackle,” recalled Headrick. “Well, that’s exactly what he did. He ran down there and busted up the wedge, made a tackle and jumps up and said, ‘Coach, I like this!’
“Around Week 6, he ended up being a starting defensive tackle and actually played really well for us,” said Headrick.
Henkenjohann (6-2, 205) also bounced back from a broken arm during the season. “He’s a tough kid,” said the S-D coach.
“The kids really embraced him. He was like one of the guys and they treated him like he had been here four years.”
Coach Headrick turned in Karl as an “Unsung Hero” to The Knoxville Focus. “He came to us and had never played football. He didn’t even know what a football looked like. He wanted to just try it, because he’s an athletic guy. And he really just loved it.
“He also had great character. Yes sir, no sir. Always doing the right thing. It’s kind of like you wish every one of our players had those same kind of characteristics.”
Henkenjohann said he enjoyed the game of football. “It was very cool, a very unique experience for me. I had never played football before. I just got on the team and tried and they put me on defense and then I’m starting.”
He said he liked hearing the crowd cheer and having his name called out after tackling the quarterback. “I never experienced anything like that with so many fans in the stands.”
This spring Karl is currently leading South-Doyle with eight goals in soccer, his go-to sport.
“So far it’s going pretty good,” he said. “We won our first district game Thursday 5-0 (at Loudon). We function together good as a team. And yell we’ll see where it goes.”
Karl plays the forward striker position.
The next soccer match for the Cherokees (5-1-2 overall) will be at ECCA in Maryville Tuesday. They will have a home match Thursday against Sequoyah.
In addition to athletics, Henkenjohann said he has enjoyed his experiences at the high school. “The people are very nice. It’s a very nice environment to be in.”
Karl also said he has been a foreign exchange student in other countries, mainly in Europe.
