'It's been a long road.' Adirondack tops General Brown for Class C New York football crown
SYRACUSE — Another rally has Adirondack atop New York's Section III after the Wildcats defeated the General Brown Lions 30-26 in Sunday's Class C championship game at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Quarterback John Hennessey ran 5 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the Wildcats (10-1) pulled out a win over the only team that had beaten them this season.
"It's been a long road," said Rob Hennessey, Adirondack's coach and the quarterback's father. "Five or six years ago, we were at the other end of the spectrum."
The 2019 Wildcats lost their first seven games but the program's fortunes have turned from there. General Brown (7-3) had beaten Adirondack 12-6 in the rain in Boonville Oct. 6; that loss was the Wildcats' first in in a fall regular season since before COVID.
"The first time we played them, it was chaos," Rob Hennessey said. "I've never seen it rain like that during a game."
Sunday's game was close from start to finish with the lead changing hands each time the teams scored in a fourth quarter that started with Adirondack up 16-14. General Brown struck first with Camden Thomas running for his second touchdown; the Lions failed for the second time on a two-point try but went ahead 20-16.
Adirondack countered with a five-yard Braden White touchdown run, but also failed in its conversion.
The Wildcats' 22-20 lead lasted 20 seconds, long enough for General Brown quarterback Aiden McManamanto find running room and cover 64 yards for a touchdown on the play after Adirondack kicked off. The Wildcats batted down the Lions' pass on conversion attempt and the score was 26-22 with 3 1/2 minutes to go.
Isaac Croneiser got the winning drive started, and the Wildcats caught a break at the end of the play. Croneiser went 15 yards on the first play of the drive but had the ball come loose; the ball rolled out of bounds eight yards further up the field, putting the Wildcats at the General Brown 42. John Hennessey ran 13 yards for another first down, and two plays later the Wildcats gained another at the 18 with less than two minutes on the clock. Adirondack called one timeout facing third-and-nine, and called another after a two-yard run by White.
Facing fourth down with 32 seconds showing on the clock, Hennessey rolled out, tucked the ball away, and ran 10 yards for another first. He ran five more yards into the end zone on the next play, and passed to Bailey Gleasman on the conversion to put the Wildcats on top.
"As a father, I couldn't be prouder," Rob Hennessey said of his younger son. "As a coach, I'm glad he's on my team."McManaman completed one pass for the Lions who called their final timeout at five seconds. The quarterback put up another pass that wound up in a pile with two receivers and Adirondack defender Max Weiler. A flag was thrown on the play but picked up after officials conferred, ending the game.
John Hennessey got the scoring started with a six-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. He had run 11 yards to the end zone late in the first quarter but had that score nullified on a hurdling call after he went over the top of a defender on his run.
A four-yard Thomas touchdown put General Brown on the board and the teams were tied at 8 at halftime.Douglas Jarvie ran for a touchdown that gave General Brown a 14-8 lead in the third quarter, but John Hennessey ran 19 yards to tie the score and the Wildcats regained the lead when he ran in the conversion in the final minute of the period.
"We had a hard week of practice this week," Hennessey said. "We were in the mud and it was cold. We were ready for the dome."
Adirondack travels to Vestal High School Saturday for its regional playoff against Section IV champion Waverly. Kickoff is scheduled for noon with the games in classes B and AA to follow.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Adirondack defeats General Brown in Section III Class C football final
