Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
The Hudson football teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s may have had more consecutive victories.
And East Grand Rapids of late last decade and early this decade may have had more consecutive state titles.
But no team has been able to put a streak together like the one that Ithaca continued this year.
The Yellowjackets won their 56th straight game, and their fourth straight state championship, when they beat Clinton 41-22 in the Division 6 title game November 29 at Ford Field.
That’s 56 straight wins and four straight state titles in the playoff era, an incredible feat.
That Hudson team won 72 straight games from September 20, 1968, through November 22, 1975, but that wasn’t in the playoff era, as the Michigan High School Athletic Association didn’t start determining its champions with a playoff until the 1975 season.
In fact, Hudson dropped its first game in 73 outings when the Tigers fell to Isphpeming 38-22 in the Class C state title game in 1975.
And East Grand Rapids did win an incredible five straight state championships, but in that five-season span, it lost three games.
So when Ithaca coach Terry Hessbrook says that his team has accomplished what no other has, he’s not lying. The Yellowjackets are currently on a streak like no other.
To not lose a game in four years, when other teams know that you are the team to beat, is a pressure that not many can handle.
It looked like this year’s team might buckle under that pressure, as Ithaca trailed in four of its five playoff games, including a 15-14 deficit to Clinton in the championship game.
But the resilient 2013 Yellowjackets fought back and won all five of those games, including the title game.
This streak hasn’t come without its share of adversity, as Ithaca lost starting quarterback Travis Smith to a shoulder injury at the start of the 2012 championship game with Constantine. The team was able to win 37-27, thanks to Hessbrook’s nephew, Logan Hessbrook, who filled in for Smith admirably.
That’s the secret to Coach Hessbrook’s success. “The secret to winning: get really good players and then get out of their way,” he said.
The philosophy hasn’t been truer than at the most important position on the field – quarterback.
Hessbrook and his staff had Alex Niznak during the first championship run, and Smith for the last three.
Niznak is currently on Central Michigan University’s roster, and next year Smith will be playing for Mid-American Conference rival University of Toledo.
“When you have two Division I quarterbacks when you are coaching Class C football, that is quite an honor,” Hessbrook said. “We try to manage them, make sure we get them in position to succeed, then get out of the way.”
Some inspirational tricks also help to keep a team focused.
“They tore the field out of Ford Field in the off-season, and when they tore it out, our maintenance guy got us a couple of pieces, and we laid that down across our track. That is what we run across to the field, and in our first game against Williamston, I said that is our first step to get back to Ford Field. That was really cool. We talked about that today, that turf led us to this turf.”
What is thce oach going to do to keep his Yellowjackets perfect and bring them back to Ford Field for a fifth straight year?