Eagles capture homecoming night win
HENNESSEY HOMECOMING – Seniors Kallie Rapp and David Gonzalez were named Hennessey High School’s football queen and king for the 2025 season Friday night before the Eagles won 24-20 over Crescent. Members of the court pictured are (from left) sophomores Jentry Pribyl and Phoenix Moreno; seniors Amiliey Tuell and Luis Macias-Montoya; seniors Jaryn Dowell and Ricardo Perez; Rapp and Gonzalez; juniors Kelie Choate and Tryson Sturgill; and freshmen Keira Pendergraft and Brytan Gardner. The junior attendants were Gabriel Valles and Ryann Dowell. [Photo by Marissa Choate]
Strong on the ground and efficient through the air.
That recipe last Friday cooked up Hennessey’s first win of the season.
The Eagles racked up 355 yards of offense to beat Crescent 24-20 on homecoming night.
Hennessey put up backto- back scores in the second half to put an end to a backand- forth game to improve to 1-2.
“I was pleased with our offensive line and tight end play overall,” coach Mark Cox said. “We were able to sustain some long drives in the second half because our guys up front did a good job of getting movement and opening running lanes for our backs.”
Those lanes led to 221 rushing yards and a 5-yardsper- carry average.
Quarterback Levi Ferrell did the most damage with 141 yards on 20 attempts.
“He ran it more than I originally planned on him running the ball,” Cox said of Ferrell. “But we were having success with it, so he got to carry the ball a lot and did a good job with his opportunities.”
Fellow junior Mario Lopez got the bulk of the carries (23), which he turned into 76 yards.
One of those long sustained drives in the second half saw Lopez score on a 4-yard run.
That coupled with a two-point pass from Ferrell to Brytan Gardner saw the Eagles turn a five-point deficit into a 17-14 lead.
The run game also helped open up the passing attack. It struck big in the fourth when Ferrell found Beau Vinson for a 40-yard touchdown and a 24-14 lead.
Crescent also got a big fourth quarter scoring play, but the Tigers couldn’t close the full deficit.
Ferrell finished 12 of 18 for 134 total yards without an interception.
The Eagles also didn’t have a fumble on the night.
“Levi is definitely getting more comfortable at QB,” said Cox of the junior making his third start. “He made good decisions on the vast majority of his throws and placed the ball well for our receivers.”
Vinson caught five total passes for 59 yards.
Hagen Copeland added four receptions for 37 yards.
Ferrell gave Hennessey the initial lead of the game with a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
The Tigers pounced back with a 25-yard pass from Tucker Stover to Smith Gordon for a 7-6 lead.
Luis Macias-Montoya’s foot took the lead back for the Eagles as he booted a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter.
However, the visitors led at halftime after Stover found Travis Wolfe for a 36-yard scoring pass before the break.
They didn’t score again until the fourth quarter.
“I thought our defensive end play was effective,” said Cox of that side of the ball. “And we showed some improvement with our linebackers.”
Jameson Ladwig, a sophomore, led the team with 11 tackles. He had nine solo stops and one tackle for loss.
Gardner added five tackles.
Hennessey gets the week off before starting district play Thursday, Sept. 25, against Newkirk in Ponca City.
“Our bye week is coming at a good time,” Cox said. “We’re going to use this week to improve in several areas and work on some situations we don’t have time to work on in a normal game week. “Also, we’re hoping to get some guys healed up this week so we’re ready for the start of district play next week.”