A filmmaker and former teammate of Reilly Hennessey produced a documentary on the quarterback’s legendary professional career playing American football in Europe, and more than 100 hundred people showed up for the world premiere of The Euro Project

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

He would later acknowledge he knew something was up, that there was a secret plan.

For what? He did not know.

He certainly never could have imagined what that secret turned out to be Sunday evening in his hometown of Camas.

Reilly Hennessey, one of the greatest football players in the long history of Camas High School, walked into a packed Liberty Theater on Sunday night to the surprise of his life.

Not only were family and friends there, but so, too, were former coaches. They were there not only to see Hennessey, but also to watch the world premiere of a documentary film … about Hennessey.

Oh, and Reilly Hennessey had no idea that there was a documentary about him … until Sunday.

Hennessey, Camas Class of 2014, was named the state football player of the year his senior season for the Papermakers, leading his team to the 2013 state championship game. After playing college football at Eastern Washington first and then Central Washington, the quarterback became a professional football player in Europe.

Yes, they do play American football over there, and from the looks of some of the celebration scenes in the film — one with Hennessey holding a gigantic trophy in front of thousands of adoring fans — there are plenty of Europeans who enjoy American football.

“Project Euro: The Reilly Hennessey Story” was shown to a cheering crowd, and then the man of the hour himself gave a brief speech.

“This is more than I could have ever expected,” Hennessey said, holding back tears. “I’m just a kid from a little mill town. To have this much support, through a silly game, truly means a lot. The faces here, some I haven’t seen in many, many years, means everything. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to every single person in this auditorium.”

A former teammate in Europe and dear friend of “Rei Guy,” Nick Alfieri is also a filmmaker. At first, Alfieri was asked to come up with a 10-minute highlight reel of Hennessey’s professional career in Europe. It turned out, there was so much more there, with archived video of Hennessey interviews with the press as well as his appearances on podcasts.

Alfieri wanted to do more.

After all, it was pointed out, there have been 34 winning Super Bowl quarterbacks through the years, but none of those NFL champions ever accomplished what Hennessey did in Europe. Hennessey quarterbacked three teams to three titles in three different divisions. Hennessey guided the Parma Panthers to an Italian championship, then he won a German Bowl with the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns. And in 2025, he led the Stuttgart Surge to an European League of Football championship.

In all three championship games, Hennessey threw winning touchdown passes on his final pass of those games.

The 51-minute documentary has some pictures of Hennessey playing youth football in Clark County, and it notes where he is from, but most of the film centers around his time playing American football in Europe. The film detailed Hennessey’s injuries, and his comebacks.

Family and friends laughed when teammates called Reilly “high maintenance.”

As of now, there is no place to watch the documentary online. Alfieri said he is hoping to get it on YouTube or another streaming service soon, but he needs to get permission to use some of the music he used in his film.

For now, it is simply a tribute from Alfieri to Reilly and his family.

Hennessey the football player retired after the 2025 championship with the Surge. He is working back in Clark County now.

Sunday’s event was a celebration of Hennessey’s football career, and a chance for Camas to show off how it treats its citizens.

“As I look around the theater, I see friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, classmates, parents, community members, and people who have been a part of the community for many, many years,” said Patrick Hennessey, Reilly’s father. “Each of you played a role in making this a special place to live, work, and raise a family.”

Patrick praised the man his son has become, and he thanked the community for helping Reilly in his journey.

Alfieri said that the only reason he took so much time to put this film together is because of the person Reilly is, the kind of man who touches people on and off the field.

After the movie, there was a scheduled meet-and-greet at a local restaurant. Before so many walked to the nearby restaurant, Hennessey again thanked everyone for coming to the theater.

“This is one of the most incredible surprises I’ve ever experienced in my life,” he said. “This is far beyond anything I could have expected.”