Terry Hessbrook now has an 87-17 coaching record at Ithaca and a 42-game winning streak that includes three state title games.
He was asked at the post-game press conference where the 37-27 nailbiter over Constantine ranked with some of the nerve-racking games he’s endured during the streak.
“It’s maybe right at the top,” Hessbrook smiled. “It might be the toughest game we’ve ever been a part of. [My players] can probably speak to that. We knew we were going to get Constantine’s best effort. Of course we didn’t know we were going to lose our starting quarterback [Travis Smith] and one of our starting receivers [Caden Kipp.]
“It was certainly quite a challenge. We haven’t faced a lot of adversity during this run. A lot of our games have been over by the second or third quarter. For these players to continue to fight the way they are, I can’t express it into words. To go through that kind of adversity in the biggest game on the biggest stage, wow.
“We’re living a dream right now in the city of Ithaca and in our school district,” Coach Hessbrook said. “It’s unreal to have won 42 games in a row.”
Ithaca fans again traveled to Ford Field in impressive numbers and outnumbered Constantine fans by nearly three to one.
“I know the community of Ithaca has supported us so much over the last few years,” Hessbrook said. “You saw the number of people that showed up here today to support the football team. We’re a community of 3,000 people, and I think we had 2,000 tickets in presale to come to this game. Just about every man, woman, and child in Ithaca was here today.
“We have a lot of opportunity to talk to our former players and alumni. We bring them in and have them talk to our players. They had a chance over Thanksgiving to know what it means to be a part of Ithaca football and what it means to all those players that have had a chance to wear the blue and gold years ago but never had a chance to do anything like this.”
How does 56 straight wins and a fourth consecutive title sound? Hessbrook smiled when saying he almost has to pinch himself to realize it’s 42 wins in a row and three titles. Trying to extend it won’t be easy. There are some key underclassmen returning, but the Yellowjackets will be hit hard by graduation and will look to restock with members of this year’s junior varsity team, which went 8-1.
“It’s not like the cupboard is bare, but we’re losing a tremendous senior class,” Hessbrook said. “Every class is a little different. We’re losing 17 seniors, and five were with us this whole run. We’e got a good JV group of kids. We’ll look different. Hopefully, we can get Travis Smith healthy and get him back on the field.”
Hessbrook would not comment on the extent of Smith’s injury, although preliminary reports are that it could take awhile for him to get the green light to return to sports.
The punt that Tyler Gibson blocked which led to a field goal and a 30-20 Ithaca lead “swung the momentum,” Logan Hessbrook said while crediting the abilities of placekicker Sage DeMull to boot the 33-yarder. “We’ve been close to blocking some during the regular season,” Hessbrook continued. “Sage is a good kicker. We had some more kickers on the roster that are very good, too. That was only our third field goal attempt of the year. We’re 3 for 3.”