With the turmoil and questions that surrounded Joe Sindoni’s departure as Cicero-North Syracuse varsity football coach, it was imperative for the district to handle the hiring of his replacement well.
And from the sense of what Dave Kline has accomplished, the Northstars may have nailed this.
The North Syracuse School District Board of Education officially approved Kline’s hiring at its board meeting Monday night, bringing on board a man with nearly three decades of coaching experience at his alma mater, Henninger High School.
Just four years after graduating from Henninger in 1984, Kline returned to that school as an assistant coach. Over the next decade and a half, he worked on the staff with mentors like Joe Casamento and Bob Campese, helping the Black Knights to five Section III titles.
Then, in 2004, when Campese left to take an administrative role at East Syracuse Minoa (where he’s now athletic director), Kline took over as Henninger’s head coach.
In his 11 seasons at the helm, the Black Knights reached the sectional semifinals six times and the finals on three occasions. In 2008, Henninger beat West Genesee 44-27 to earn Kline’s first sectional title as a head coach.
But it was the 2014 season that proved a peak for both Kline and the Henninger program. Led by the likes of Romero Collier, Keisean Scott and Savon Smith, the Black Knights, with 38 unanswered points in the second half, routed Liverpool 44-7 for the sectional title and ultimately reached the state AA semifinal with an 11-0 record before falling to eventual state champion Jamestown.
C-NS will start its 2015 season on Sept. 3, facing Kingston in the Carrier Dome at the Kickoff Classic, and Kline will get to face his former team, Henninger, on Oct. 2 at Sunnycrest Field.
