Following years of a consistent losing record, the Horace Greeley Quakers football team seemingly did everything right during the 2021-22 season. With a record of 7-1, Greeley football (GFootball) established themselves as undisputed league champions.
Holding the position as league champions was even more notable for Greeley considering their performance in the past few seasons. According to Maxpreps, a standings and rankings company for high school sports, GFootball’s wins and losses from the 2015-2016 season to the 2020-2021 season was a combined 10-38. The Quakers finished in the bottom 25% of the Section 1AA and Section 1A leagues in 4 out of 5 of those seasons. Coming into the 2021-2022 season, the team had a lot of work to do.
Needless to say, Greeley football put in the work and the results showed. Coach Kearns commented, “We worked hard and kept our standard protocol.” From the 2015-2016 season to the 2020-2021 season, GFootball scored an average of 114 points per season, while allowing an average of 259 points against them. However, another important factor in GFootball’s rise to success is the team’s switch to the Section 1 Independent League before the start of the 2021-2022 season. The switch helped enable the team’s growth and success and allowed them to come into their own. Upon joining, the Quakers scored 214 points in their first season while only allowing 117 points against. This, combined with a near-perfect record, made GFootball a force to be reckoned with.
When asked about the impact of last season, senior Jack Rosenberg stated, “Whenever we play any team, they will play harder and faster against us than they will against other teams. They prepare more than usual and they will want it more than usual when they are playing against the defending champions.” Rosenberg further explained, “When teams know they have to face us, their whole week is dedicated to the application of intensive film study and heavy review of their playbook…no team is ever truly ready to face us.” Led by Senior Captains CJ Hessert, Erik Forester, and Owen Schoonmaker, GFootball hoped to maintain the same success during the 2022-2023 season.

Greeley football’s sudden winning culture began to revive the waning school spirit. With a noticeably greater attendance at both home and away football games, many Greeley students were simultaneously proud and impressed by the Quakers’ performances this fall. “The atmosphere [in school] before a home game is filled with excitement,” remarked junior Eliza Elbaum. “You can just tell everyone can’t wait to go to the game that night.” Not only did Greeley students attend, but Chappaqua families of all ages also gathered to watch the games, creating an electric atmosphere celebrated by the greater Chappaqua community.
RGFootball pushed forward during the 2022-2023 fall season ensuring that they would not go down in the books as a one-season-wonder. The Quakers finished the fall season with a 7-2 record, mirroring their shocking success last season with a 7-1 record.