As Cicero-North Syracuse gathered in a huddle after the game, almost every player had a sign with “100” on it. That’s the number of wins their head coach, Dave Kline, reached in his career Friday night after beating the same school he got his first win with, Henninger.

As Kline finished giving his post-game speech, the players raised the signs to salute and congratulate him. A similar gesture was made by the numerous fans and parents still standing in the bleachers, and the players turned to them as well. A cheer went up from both groups, and when it subsided, Kline addressed the players again, smiling, but all business, letting them know when practice would be next week.

C-NS (8-0) beat Henninger (1-7), 48-6, Friday night at home in the Section III Class AA quarterfinals, but Kline knows that every week from now, his Northstars will face an increasingly difficult challenge. When asked about what it would take to get past the state semifinals this year, where the Northstars made it last season, Kline simply responded, “Let’s get to that place first.”

That same business-like attitude served the Northstars well in Friday night’s game. Jaiquawn McGriff ran for three short touchdowns in the first quarter, piling pressure onto Henninger early in the game, and three other running backs also picked up touchdowns.

“(My staff has) kept (McGriff) fresh all year long,” Kline said. “I think he’s got 65 carries this year, so we haven’t pounded. We want to keep the ball spread out, and we want to keep all the athletes touching the ball.”

The special teams unit was also effective in the first half, and holding a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, senior Nate Geloff caught a punt at his own 21-yard line and ran up the left sideline all the way to the end zone. Earlier, he had almost returned another punt for a touchdown but was ruled out-of-bounds at the two-yard line, which would eventually set up one of McGriff’s touchdowns.

Special teams are an area of the game that Kline said can “make or break” the Northstars as they go deeper into the playoffs.

“The punt returns Nate did today were ridiculous,” he said. ”If he can do that, it just sets up everything for us.“

Defensively, the Northstars were just as dominant. They held Henninger scoreless until the fourth quarter when Travis Galloway ran in a six-yard touchdown. Those would be the only Henninger points of the night.

Many of the leaders on C-NS have played for three years under Kline, who took the job there in 2015 after earning 67 wins with Henninger, where he became the head coach in 2004. He’s only lost six games with the Northstars, four of which came in his first season, and is hoping to finally achieve an undefeated season this year.

For his players, Kline’s milestone is just another reflector of how much he has changed the program. Geloff said they know how bad the program was before Kline got there, and it’s a big deal for them too.

But the players final objective is still a few weeks away – the state championship.

“That’s the goal,” Geloff said. “That’s been the goal all year.”

Published on October 19, 2018 at 11:35 pm

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder