John Raffel
Sports Scene
Brad Showers didn’t like what he saw the first two drives of Ithaca’s Division 6 state championship football game at Ford Field.
But he sure liked what he witnessed the rest of the way.
Constantine scored on its first two possessions and had a 14-7 lead over Ithaca at one stage of the first quarter in the November 25 game.
But the Falcons did not score again after the Yellowjackets posted 35 unanswered points en route to the 42-14 win and the team’s second straight 14-0 title-winning season.
Showers, the team’s defensive coordinator, watched his team enjoy three shutouts during the regular season and one during the playoffs in the 28-0 state semifinal win over Iron Mountain. In four other games, the opponents scored seven points or fewer.
Showers has been on the Ithaca coaching staff since 1999. Prio war to that, he was head coach at Vestaburg for years.
“I was living in Alma and working at Carson City,” Showers said, adding that when he moved to Ithaca, he first served as a volunteer on then-coach Jim Ahern’s staff. At the beginning, he worked with freshmen and junior varsity, and was on the varsity staff during Ahern’s last two seasons at Ithaca.
When Terry Hessbrook became head coach eight seasons ago, Showers immediately became defensive coordinator.
Hessbrook “was coaching at Montabella when I was at Vestaburg,” Showers said. “We scrimmaged each other. I knew him from playing softball, too.”
Showers, who also had playoff teams at Vestaburg, has a simple reason to explain Ithaca’s 28-0 success.
“We just have great kids,” he said. “They work hard. They’re smart kids. When you want to make adjustments, they can make the adjustments.”
Showers calls the plays as the defensive coordinator.
“We had quite a few kids that played last year, and we had quite a few kids back,” he said. “This group was fast and physical. They’re tough kids that don’t know how to quit.”
“We have some really good kids that have worked really hard,” Hessbrook said. “They don’t question us as a coaching staff. They’ve bought in on what we’re trying to do, whether it be in the weight room or during the summer. They want to be a part of this.”
“I don’t think there were many people in Ithaca that planned on him having another undefeated season after losing what he did last year with some very talented players,” said Constantine coach Shawn Griffith. “He’s got some things going on there.”
Showers admitted that he had some anxious thoughts when Constantine rolled to two early touchdowns.
“We had to slow down,” Showers said. “We were just chasing them. After that first quarter, their fullback only had 30 some yards.”
Showers remembers coming to the state finals and watching as a spectator.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he said. “We’ll keep going at it. If kids and coaches keep working hard, good things will happen.”
Hessbrook and Showers have coached Ithaca to a 73-17 record the past eight seasons. But it’s been 28-0 and two state titles in 2010 and 2011.
“Their coach has done a nice job of getting their players in sets he can prosper in. He’s a good coach. He and his staff do a great job,” said Griffith.