Ferguson claims first GMAC independent title after earning payback vs. rival Braddock
Gene Chew has been the only head football coach Ferguson High has had since it opened in 2003.
He’s been through some lean years where the team struggled just to win a game and some good years like 2009 when the Falcons made their lone appearance in the FHSAA playoffs and won a district championship.
But getting doused with a bucket of cold water just as time expired on Thursday afternoon and the celebration that followed will go down as one of his favorite memories.
“It’s out of this world,” Chew said. “All the work the coaches put in with these kids especially for a lot of these kids that came in the COVID year (in 2020). We put them through the fire and for everything to pay off like this with them, it’s incredible.”
Waving large flags with the school’s name and logo on them and running around in celebration, the Ferguson football team partied on the field at Tropical Park after a 21-9 victory against rival Braddock to secure its first GMAC independent schools championship.
The Falcons (10-1) completed one of the most successful seasons in school history by avenging their only loss thanks to four interceptions from its defense and 101 yards and two touchdowns rushing by senior running back Manuel Rodriguez.
“This feels awesome. We’ve been preparing for this all year and we were getting ready to see them again,” Rodriguez said. “We knew we were going to be in this game and we were ready. It feels great to be a champion.”
Rodriguez’s performance on Thursday followed another outstanding effort the first time the two teams played on Sept. 28 when he rushed for over 200 yards. But Braddock prevailed 29-26 in that game, which put the Bulldogs (9-2) on course for the rematch.
The difference in round 2 was Ferguson’s defense.
“I knew we were physical and last game we left some points on the board,” Chew said. “Braddock never gives up, but we persevered because we work on running to the ball especially on defense.”
Senior linebacker Nicholas Estrada fielded two of the four interceptions the Falcons secured and held Braddock to only 47 yards rushing.
“We’ve been working on this since January non-stop for this moment with our coaches,” Estrada said. “Everybody did their part and did their assignments and if we messed up we just moved past it.”
Junior defensive end Andres Lopez set the tone for the Falcons’ defense quickly when he picked off Braddock quarterback Justynn Fundora and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
Ferguson never trailed in the game and broke it open in the third quarter on touchdown runs of 37 and 23 yards by Rodriguez.
“Manuel makes me look good,” Chew said. “We’ve had many running backs that have done well in our system but he goes the extra mile because he never gives up and it takes a few people to bring him down and he inspires us to keep working.”
Braddock narrowed the gap to two scores in the fourth quarter when Fundora found senior Steven Perez for a 61-yard touchdown pass. The Bulldogs then recovered an onside kick. But Ferguson’s defense stopped Braddock on downs to seal the win. The Bulldogs were also hampered by 17 penalties for 195 yards.
“This shows us as coaches and kids and our administration that you can still build a program from the beginning,” Chew said. “A lot of these kids stuck with it for four years and suffered through the tough times, but now it pays off in the end.”
