It is the end of a football era at Madison. When senior Brendan Ginley plays his last game for the Warhawks — sometime in late December he hopes — coach Gordon Leib will suddenly face the prospect of a Ginley-free team for the first time in his 10 years at the school.
A standout linebacker and running back, Brendan Ginley is the youngest of five brothers, each of whom played the sport at Madison. From Dillon (class of 1999) to Connor(’00) to Ryan (’02) to Kelly (’04), Leib has coached them all. Except sister Megan (’06), a Liberty District champion in cross country who now plays rugby at Virginia Tech.
“Each kid had their own personality. But they all had that one common element,” said Leib, who noted that both Dillon Ginley and his father, Michael, were on the committee that interviewed him for the Madison job. “They loved to play the game and did it with as much intensity as possible.”
Brendan Ginley was a ball boy at Madison games as a youngster. He was so involved with the program that when the quarterback called out signals he knew exactly what was coming. Ginley’s Vienna Youth Incorporated football coaches were also Madison assistants.
“My parents never pushed me into it,” Brendan Ginely said. “I just saw how much fun my brothers had and wanted to be a part of it. They always said it would be the time of my life and it has been.”
Brendan Ginley continues his final season of high school football tonight with a critical Liberty District contest at Stone Bridge (6-1, 4-0 district). The two teams are tied for first place and both are almost mortal locks to reach the Division 5 Northern Region playoffs.
But a win would be give a boost to Madison (7-0, 4-0), which has faltered in recent years against the Bulldogs. Stone Bridge has won all four meetings between the two teams, including two region semifinal playoff games – 21-17 in 2005 and 49-28 last season.
“I don’t think [a 7-0 record] was something we were thinking about before the season,” Ginley said. “But we were definitely confident. Now we have to carry all that into this game. If we play the way we have been we’ll have a shot to win it.”
Cleveland Rocks
» The Ginley family hails from Cleveland. Mom Meg Hyland had 13 brothers and sisters and dad Michael had three brothers.
» Brendan Ginley and his father, Michael, helped put together the team’s football program. Michael Ginley played football at Cleveland power St. Ignatius and still has Cleveland Browns season tickets.
» Older brother Dillon earned a football scholarship to Towson. Older brother Kelly (William & Mary) was a Northern Region wrestling champion at 152 pounds.
