Every year, members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins football team raise a glass of champagne when the last undefeated team in the National Football League loses its first game.
It means that their place in hstory as the last NFL team to go undefeated remains.
Hudson High School is going through something similar, now that the nation’s longest 11-man football winning streak, the streak that was inching closer to usurpng its 72-game record, ended Nov. 29.
Ithaca saw its consecutive winning streak snapped at 69 victories when it lost to St. Mary Catholic Central, 22-12, in the Division 6 state championship title game at Ford Field.
It was 1,834 days between losses for Ithaca. The last time that Ithaca lost a football game was Nov. 21, 2009, when it went down 47-16 to Montague.
Since then, Ithaca notched four consecutive 14-0 seasons, winning a state title in each. It rattled off 13 wins in 2014 before falling short in the state final.
Ithaca had won 24 consecutive state playoff games, a remarkable feat which which makes its 69-game winning streak the most impressive one in state history.
The playoffs began in 1975, and Hudson needed to win only one playoff game to set the record before losing in the finals.
But perhaps the most amazing part of this entire streak for the Yellowjackets was the 13 games Ithaca coach Terry Hessbrook and his team won this season. With only five seniors. this year’s group was not as talented as past Ithaca teams. However, the intangibles were evident the entire year. The team played with guts, determination, and will. “I was very proud of our team,” Hessbrook said. “I was proud of their effort. As a coach, when you go into this, all you can do is ask your players to play as hard as they can possibly play. I have never questioned this team’s effort.”
Junior Jake Smith agrees. “When you get this far, you don’t want to be remembered as the team that ended the streak. We knew it was going to happen eventually, but I couldn’t be prouder of a team that has achieved so much. This will hurt for awhile. Don’t count us out. We will be back.”
Despite Ithaca’s winning streak, the Yellowjackets were the underdogs in the champtionship game. This Ithaca team had only five seniors, one of whom was the kicker.
“We’ve had maybe more talented teams, I’m going to be honest, and that’s no knock on this football team,” Hessbrook said. “But I’ve never coached a football team that has more heart or shown more resiliency, and that’s going to back to the teams we’ve had the last four or five years.”
Despite the loss, expect Ithaca to pick up the pieces and be back again. With the likes of Spence DeMull, Smith, Jonah Loomis, Jace Demenov, and Tyler Spitzley returning for their senior seasons, don’t be surprised if the Yellowjackets return to Ford Field for a sixth straight season. They may even walk away with the championship trophy.