Ithaca High football aims to improve under new head coach

The Section IV football season will finally get underway on September 5 with Week 0. One of the Tompkins County teams in action that night will be Ithaca High School when it heads to Fairport. The Little Red are hoping to turn things around with a familiar face taking over the program.

Johnnie Akins is the Little Red’s new head coach, taking over from IHS alum Khiry Brown after two seasons at the helm. A SUNY Cortland football alum, Akins was the defensive coordinator under Brown and has coached at the school for seven years, including coaching wrestling and lacrosse. Since he knows virtually every player on the team, the transition has been pretty smooth.

“I’m enjoying it,” Akins said. “It was more of taking a leap of leadership. It’s a shot at leadership. As much as I want to be better as a person, I think through these lenses of football, we’re going to help each other, me as a coach and them as athletes. To me, football has been my vehicle. I landed here off of opportunity and a sight of stability, and Ithaca has given me a home.”

With every head coaching change brings a newfound identity to a team. While that will largely remain the same under Akins, he has been preaching a motto that makes up the word ‘Ithaca’: Individuals That Honor Accountability, Commitment and Adaptability.

“I feel like football is more of a guide at the end of the day,” Akins said. “Yeah, we want to have fun on a Friday night. But in between those days, what are we doing? I’m here to use this platform as more of a space where they can become better people, and I believe that’ll pump out a certain product on Friday night. The identity is to continue to raise the standard and keep the main thing, the main thing.”

Ithaca High has been on quite the roller coaster ride over the past couple of years. In 2023, the Little Red bounced back from a winless season with an astonishing 7-2 record, which was its first winning season since 2010 and its best record this century. But in 2024, the Little Red could not repeat those heroics, posting a 2-8 record. Akins believes honing in on the minute details will result in an improved campaign.

“We have to fix our little things that discipline nature of doing everything right, the little things right such as not going offsides, such as running through the line,” Akins said. “If we can get those things correct, I believe the product on Friday night will.”

On offense, there will be a new starting quarterback following the graduation of Noah Butler. Senior Jack Barton and junior Shy’von Williams are expected to both see time under center. They’ll be helped out by plenty of dynamic playmakers such as sophomore Jasmir Robbins and junior Leo Fiorello. But all great offenses need a strong line, and Akins believes they have one to let their skill players flourish.

“Our line is the heartbeat,” Akins said. “As much as those skill players can do stuff and have the ball in their hand, they can’t get the ball in their hand if our line doesn’t do their job. I got to start off with our center right now, who is Boden [Greenspun]. We got Hayden [Cornell]. We got Harris [Germain]. We got Gavin [Cornell], as well [as] tight end Owen Webster. Those people up front, we start with them, build up around them, then you’ll see what the playmakers can do.”

Webster, a senior, will not only be a key part of their offense, but he’s also a leader on defense as their middle linebacker. That position is often regarded as the ‘quarterback’ of the defense, and Akins puts plenty of trust in Webster commandeering that unit.

“I’ve been working with him in the weight room where we’ve been working together as a team,” Akins said. “He’s hungry, [he’s] got an edge and has leadership characteristics.” 

The Little Red has three home games on the schedule: September 12 vs. Chenango Valley, October 3 vs. Binghamton, and October 10 vs. Susquehanna Valley. Akins hopes that all the hard work they’ve put in throughout the offseason and throughout practices will be on full display at Moresco Stadium throughout the fall.

“If we could be better students, we’d be better athletes,” Akins said. “I mean that wholeheartedly. Everybody wants to see a show on Friday night. But nobody sees what we do week-to-week. So internally, we have to handle what’s asked of us. What’s asked of us is [to] uphold the standard as students, as individuals, and then those habits will be transferable skills onto the field, which will lead over to a Friday night. That’s my philosophy as a person, as a coach, and what we’re breeding here.”