Eagles conclude season with 1st win
It was a night that sent the seniors out on a high note and possibly helped lay the groundwork for the future.
Hennessey did not end 2023 winless as the Eagles dropped Newkirk 30-28 last Friday in the final game of the season.
The Eagles scored all their points in an explosive second quarter, then held on late for the “Senior Night” victory.
The season ends with a 1-9 record, which included a 1-6 mark in District 2A-1.
“After losing our first nine games, it would have been very easy for them to give up and quit fighting,” said HHS first-year head coach Mark Cox.
“But they didn’t quit and that speaks to their character and how much they care about fighting for their brothers next to them.”
Gunnar Holder had a career night throwing the ball while Weston Smith and Kevin Trillo had massive games on the receiving end.
Holder went 22 of 37 for 339 yards and a touchdown and didn’t turn over the ball.
Trillo caught nine passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.
Smith added seven receptions for 156 yards and a TD.
His score was at the end of the first half when he hauled in a bomb from Holder and then outran Shaden Pankey into the end zone.
That TD came with three seconds left in the half and gave the Eagles a 30-14 halftime lead and capped a frantic final minute for the Eagles.
Holder found the end zone on a 1-yard run with 1:01 left in the half.
That score was the final cog in an 80-yard drive and gave Hennessey a 24-14 lead.
Newkirk tried to answer before the end of the half, but Smith picked off a Pankey pass in the end zone.
One play later, Smith found himself in the opposite end zone for what proved to be the game-winning TD.
Newkirk cut into its deficit when Pankey found the end zone on a 49-yard run at 8:37 of the third quarter.
He scored his third TD of the night with 4:21 to play in the game on a 5-yard run, pulling the Tigers within 30-28.
Newkirk did nearly all its damage on the ground as the Tigers rolled up 351 yards rushing.
But they didn’t get the three yards they needed to even the score.
The visitors went for two to tie the game, but Cam Griffin drug down the ball carrier short of the goal line.
Newkirk never got a chance to score again as Hennessey ate the final four-plus minutes off the clock.
“I was happy for our seniors that they earned themselves a win to go out on,” Cox said.
“I’m proud of their fight and their leadership for our younger guys and want nothing but the best for them moving forward.”
Griffin and Smith are two of those seniors.
Griffin had 10 total tackles on the night, nine of them solo.
Smith’s night was almost even bigger.
He caught a 71-yard touchdown on Hennessey’s final drive, but the play was negated by a penalty.
On top of his receiving yards, he also threw a touchdown pass.
That came with 5:51 to go in the first half when the Eagles ran a reverse pass.
Once Smith got the ball, Trillo was wide open on the far side of the field.
Trillo also had a big night on defense, leading the team with 11 tackles.
Another senior, Zack Tillman, got the Eagles on the board.
Newkirk led 6-0 after a quarter, but Tillman capped an 80-yard drive with a 6-yard TD run at 10:38 of the second quarter.
He finished with six carries for 23 yards.
But the Eagles did a majority of their damage through the air.
Jakob Johns added five receptions for 46 yards while Luis Macias-Montoya caught two for 30 more yards. Macias-Montoya also kicked a 20-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Erik Rojo added nine stops for the Eagles.
Holder, Trillo, Macias- Montoya, Johns and Rojo are among the Eagles who will be back in 2024.
Cox said Friday night’s performance can go a long way in the months leading up to that.
“I think this win was huge for our underclassmen as well,” he said. “It gives them something positive to build on as we start working toward earning more success next season.”