Dom Henry of Nease is All-First Coast football player of the year for offense

From the district basement to the regional final.

And, for Dom Henry, from out of the recruiting shadows to the Times-Union’s top football honor.

Leading a turnaround that few could have imagined, Henry helped transform Nease’s fortunes as the area’s top deep threat on Northeast Florida’s most improved team, and the Times-Union’s All-First Coast offensive player of the year for high school football.

Nease had won only two combined games in 2019 and 2020, but Henry helped spark the Panthers to their first winning season since 2015 and their first trip to a Florida High School Athletic Association regional final since 2007.

Henry’s numbers were mind-boggling: 81 catches, 1,590 yards and 13 touchdowns in a relentless down-the-field onslaught, chasing down passes from the strong arm of quarterback Marcus Stokes.

That didn’t just lead Northeast Florida: Henry ended up topping the MaxPreps receiving charts for the entire state, 186 yards ahead of runner-up Pearce Spurlin of South Walton.

All First Coast football:Meet Northeast Florida’s top high school players for 2021

Five Star General:Riverside’s Singletary named All-First Coast top defender

Going by the numbers, Henry’s season was the most productive for a nease wideout since the championship year of 2005, when Ryan Ellis caught 103 passes for 1,911 yards and 18 touchdowns — setting numerous regional records — on the Tim Tebow-led team that won it Alles.

Henry didn’t exactly come out of nowhere.

As a junior, he caught 40 passes for 435 yards and three touchdowns, ranking among St. Johns County’s most productive pass-catchers. But his feats largely escaped attention on a 1-8 Panthers team.

In 2021, though, no opponent in the Sunshine State was able to shut Henry down. He caught at least four passes and gained at least 67 receiving yards in each of his contests, including eight 100-yard receiving nights.

Among Henry’s brightest highlights was a 95-yard highlight-reel reception in the playoffs’ opening round, part of a nine-catch, 254-yard day to overcome Spruce Creek on the road, 24-21, in a Region 1-7A postseason thriller.

In addition to his receiving, he also scored on a punt return against Orange Park and a rush against Gainesville Buchholz, the team that finally stopped Nease’s journey in the regional championship game.

In January, Henry took the next step, selecting BYU to join the short list of Jacksonville-area players to choose the Provo, Utah-based university — former Bishop Kenny quarterback Kevin Gilbride Jr., in 1998, is likely the most prominent Northeast Florida signee for BYU in the past quarter-century.

Henry is leaving a winning legacy at Nease, which enters 2022 among the district contenders in the new Metro-Suburban system being introduced by the FHSAA this year.

Dom Henry, football (offense)

Wide receiver, Nease, senior

age: 18

Resume: Led Florida’s statewide MaxPreps list in multiple receiving categories, catching 81 for 1,590 yards and 13 touchdowns. … Sparked Panthers’ turnaround from one-win season to Class 7A playoffs. … Committed in January to BYU.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.