The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns have signed Italian Bowl-winning, dual-passport quarterback Reilly Hennessey.
Hennessey has been brought in as an insurance policy in case Schwäbisch Hall’s starting quarterback Alex Haupert is unable to play. Haupert has been listed as questionable after suffering a knee injury in last week’s semi-final. Haupert’s backup, Ian Gehrke, has filled in admirably when needed this season, putting up 17 touchdowns and three interceptions when called upon. However, the addition of 6’3″, 22o pound Hennessey makes the Unicorns coaching staff more confident heading into Saturday’s German Bowl.
Head coach Jordan Neuman commented on the reason for bringing in a new quarterback just before the championship:
“If possible, we of course want to play Alex Haupert in the German Bowl. Our backups James Slack and Ian Gehrke are on a good path and have shown that this year. However, they are not at the right stage in their development for me to feel good about starting them in such an important game. Adding to that, we will be missing our running back John Santiago in Frankfurt. This makes an already difficult task even more challenging.” (translated from German)
With the addition of the 25-year-old Italian–American, the Unicorns gain another passer with championship experience. Hennessey led the Parma Panthers to a perfect 10-0 season in the Italian Football League this summer throwing for 1,672 yards and 17 touchdowns, while adding another two scores on the ground. Schwäbisch Hall signed Hennessey as an emergency player back at the player transfer deadline on July 31st. The foresighted move seems to have paid off as the Unicorns now have another signal-caller with big-game experience to rely on if need be. Hennessey has been in Schwäbisch Hall practicing with his new team since last week.
Needless to say, Hennessey is happy about joining the Unicorns:
“I am excited to help the Unicorns in any way that I can. This is a great organization and one that I am happy to get a chance to be a part of.”
Before joining the Parma Panthers in Italy, Hennessey had a productive collegiate career at Central Washington University (NCAA D1). The Camas, Washington native, threw for 2,705 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2018 to go along with his 2,551 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2017. He also ran for 572 yards and five touchdowns in 2018, setting a CWU single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback, and the year before he rushed for 477. He set a CWU record by throwing for five touchdowns in three consecutive games. He also set a CWU record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 118 against Humboldt State. His 67.3 completion percentage was the second-best single-season mark in school history.