GHS Football: Resilient and Reflective

Glastonbury High School football seniors. Photo- GHS Friends of Football Booster Club

 From a competitive standpoint, the last 20 months have been a rough road for the Glastonbury football team. 
           
The pandemic wiped away competition in the fall of 2020, while injuries and tough losses have hindered this season.
           
Entering their final game, a tough road test at Xavier, the Guardians stand at 2-7.
           
Through it all, head coach Eric Hennessy and his Guardians have made the best of a difficult situation. 
           
“The one thing I am most proud of is that we’ve continued to compete. It says a lot about the character of our kids to come to practice and keep fighting,” Hennessy said. “We’ve had a lot of bad luck this year and some close games and I think this type of season would break the average teenager, but we have some mentally tough kids that were able to stay focused and continue to get better.”
           
There is no better example of resiliency than senior captain Michael Connolly, who was primed to have an All-State season in the trenches before injuries derailed his final year at GHS.
           
Connolly said he was amped for his senior season before a knee injury knocked him out of action early in the season and a shoulder injury doomed the latter part, “It’s tough. It was my senior year so I was looking forward to being out here the last year with the boys, but stuff happens.”
           
Despite limited time on the field, Hennessy said Connolly is the perfect example of what a team leader represents, “He’s a true captain. He’s had a rough go but he stays positive and comes out here and does what he can to help. He’s a great young man and an excellent team captain.”
           
The team started the season with four straight losses, losing three of those games by a single possession. 
           
They rebounded with impressive wins over Newington (28-20) and New Britain (37-12) surrounded by three more losses. 
           
Senior captains Jack Hennessy (coach Hennessy’s son) and Matt Daniels were instrumental in the wins, along with helping navigate the team through the struggles.
           
“We’re a close team and it’s been tough. What happened last year prepared us for anything,” said the younger Hennessy, who has tried to relish his final high school year. “Sometimes you can sit back and let it soak in a little bit. I have been enjoying this season.”
           
Hennessy has been a force on both sides of the ball, doubling as a defensive standout and bruising lead back/road grader on offense. 
           
The electrifying Daniels has teamed with power back Jack Petrone to create a ‘thunder & lighting” backfield on offense.
           
Daniels said the seniors leaned on each other during the difficulties of 2020, “We’re all in it together. Sometimes I felt down but I realized there were other seniors that had the same problem that I did. We came together and this year we are a tight group.” 
           
When the team isn’t battling it out on the field, they have found time to give back to the community.
           
In October, the team raised over $1000 for Metastatic Breast Cancer Research, with 100% of the proceeds going toward the cause. During their bye-week the team cleaned up local parks and schools, disposing of trash and brightening the surrounding areas. They also plan to rake leaves and do fall cleanup for elderly and disabled people in the community later in November. 
           
“One of the things I believe in is giving back to the community and developing servant leaders,” added coach Hennessy, “These players understand the importance of giving back.”
           
GHS football has also been on the cutting edge of injury prevention, particularly with head trauma. The players are wearing new technology on the inside of their helmets this season, using ground-breaking Q-Sensor devices which create complex algorithms measuring factors like impact, changes in velocity, and concussion threshold. 
           
The data collected can be utilized during the game, sending the censored information to team trainers on the sidelines.
           
Hennessy said the biggest benefit is making sure the kids are safe during competition.
           
This Saturday will be the last time that Hennessy and his team will all compete this fall. For the three captains and ten other seniors (Luke Fahey, Dan Beagle, Jack Niland, Patrick Serksnas, Jack Czarnecki, Michael Maciolek, Alex George, Jack Gherard, Josh DiCicco, and Russell Abankwah) it will be the last time representing GHS together.
           
“We’d like to finish strong and end on a good note. That’s my goal and I think the team’s goal too,” said Daniels.
           
Coach Hennessy added, “They continue to fight and they are still having fun, which is the most important thing. We still haven’t played all four quarters of quality football. We just have to go and compete for four quarters and see what happens. There is no reason we can’t finish strong.”
           
​The finale is this Saturday (Nov. 20) at Xavier High School in Middletown. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.