“I’m really happy for the seniors,” Hennigan said. “It was good to get a win. The game plan was really simple and we were happy with the results for sure.”
After serving as an assistant coach for 29 seasons, Hennigan was hired as Southeastern head coach last winter, replacing A.J. Woods.
“It was on my short bucket list,” Hennigan said. “It wasn’t something I jumped into blindly. I had considered it several times and applied for it a few times. It was just the right timing. Better late than never.”
Hennigan, a 1984 Southeastern graduate, is in his fifth decade with the Southeastern football program. He was a member of the 1983 Southeastern team that finished 10-0 and became the first team in Clark County history to advance to the OHSAA playoffs under coach John West.
Hennigan began his coaching career in 1986 under Steve Carr. He’s served on staff with six of the last seven Southeastern head coaches — Steve Bartlett, Mike Hetrick, Hal Perry, Greg Bonifay and Woods. He took off a few seasons when he had kids, but his love of Trojan football always brought him back to the program.
“It’s one of those things where I can truly tell our players the tradition of Trojan football,” he said, “because I’ve been there. I’ve lived it.”
Hennigan has been on the sidelines for some of Southeastern’s greatest games.
As a senior, Hennigan’s squad lost to Middletown Fenwick 26-21 in a regional championship game
“That’s one that was in our grasp and got away,” he said.
In the 1996 season opener, the Trojans took Shawnee to overtime, but fell to their Clark County rivals 20-14 in front of 2,000 fans, according to News-Sun archives.
“It was one of those games where those guys weren’t expecting much and weren’t respecting us,” Hennigan said. “They came into our field and it was 14-14 at the end of regulation. (Shawnee) ended up squeaking it out.”
The program’s 15 playoff games stick out as well, he said, including the 2001 team’s run to the D-VI regional final.
“I had a great experience as a player and I want to continue to help our kids have great experiences as well as players,” Hennigan said. “It’s important to me to carry on the tradition. I don’t know if I’ve put it on myself to be that steward for Southeastern football, but it’s been important for me to pass along this legacy of Trojan football.”
Last Friday night, the Trojans jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead en route to a 35-13 victory in North Lewisburg. Southeastern junior Eli Goodbar rushed for 85 yards and three TDs and senior Hayden Davis rushed for 149 yards and a TD for the Trojans. Defensively, Trojans senior Xavier Baird added a 38-yard interception return for a TD in the victory.
“When you start the season 0-2, there’s a little bit of relief because people are expecting you to win,” Hennigan said. “We kind of beat ourselves (the first two weeks). We had three turnovers against Lehman Catholic and four against Northwestern. We just put ourselves in terrible situations and weren’t taking care of the football. This past Friday we put everything together where we were able to control the ball and move it. That’s the whole idea with our offense is to just chip away and keep the ball on offense. That’s the best defense for us.”
The message has been a simple one for Hennigan’s squad this fall — strive for perfection.
“We’ve been preaching perfection,” Hennigan said. “Everything we do, every drill we run, every sprint we run, it’s all perfection. … That’s what we’re striving for. It’s asking a lot because they’re kids, but at the same time, they’re getting the idea that if they all do their job and do it the best that they can that it all works out pretty well.”
The Trojans, who have advanced to the playoffs each of the past two seasons, host West Liberty-Salem (2-1) on Friday night in an OHC crossover matchup at Trojan Stadium in South Charleston.
“Southeastern has been good to me and I’ve enjoyed being there,” Hennigan said. “I’m going to do this as long as I can, as long as they’ll keep me around at whatever spot — head coach, assistant or running the chains. It doesn’t matter. I like going to Southeastern football games on Friday night.”
PREP FOOTBALL
WEEK 4
Friday’s games
Miamisburg at Springfield
Northwestern at Kenton Ridge
Catholic Central at Fairbanks
Shawnee at London
Greenon at Northeastern
West Liberty-Salem at Southeastern
Indian Lake at Tecumseh
Cedarville at Mechanicsburg
West Jefferson at Greeneview
Graham at Urbana
Triad at Madison Plains
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