A day after Jake Owens resigned as head football coach of the Scott Eagles football program, Athletic Director Casey Fisk called on a longtime friend to fill in.
Scott has hired Steve Hensley to be the next head coach of the football program as the Eagles are set to begin their season in three weeks at Campbell County.
“I’ve had a relationship with Steve for 20-plus years,” Eagles Athletic Director Casey Fisk said. “We’ve kept that relationship while he was the AD at Campbell County. He’s been a principal, AD and head football coach. We’re trying to make the best of a very tough situation.”
Hensley has prior stops as the head football coach at Ludlow and Taylor (OH). Hensley coached at Ludlow from 2003-05.
“He’s a guy I can trust. He’s a guy I know that will make sure these kids are okay and look at these kids and form some meaningful relationships,” Fisk said. “He is our head football coach. Will he be the head coach next year? I don’t know. We’re trying to make the best of this year.”
Hensley met with the team on Friday and will begin practice on Monday as they prepare for the start of season.
The Owens era ended before it ever really even got started. After accepting the position in February, he informed the team of his resignation on Thursday. The Florida native cited personal reasons for the departure. He released a statement on Facebook on Friday afternoon:
Owens was set to replace Eric Turner, who resigned in December after coaching the Eagles the past four seasons.
“Jake had told me this was a possibility about two weeks ago,” Fisk said. “I found out on Tuesday and he officially put his resignation in this morning (Friday). It’s gut-wrenching. We hired his wife to be the assistant principal and felt like they were really meshing in this community. Life just takes a different turn sometimes.”
Turner guided the Eagles to a 21-22 record during his tenure and won two Class 4A, 6th district titles. The Eagles went 4-7 in the 2022 season, losing to Lexington Catholic in the first round of the playoffs. Now comes a jump to Class 5A in the latest KHSAA football realignment, the Eagles paired with Boone County, Cooper, Conner, Dixie Heights and Highlands in the Class 5A, 6th District.
Hensley inherits a team graduated 19 seniors from the 2022 team, the majority of them playing prominent roles including top rusher Bennie Hill with 1,448 yards and 17 touchdowns as well as quarterback Dasani Lane, who threw for 732 yards and 10 touchdowns. One of Lane’s top targets in Nolan Hunter was also a senior, Hunter with 24 receptions for 324 yards and five touchdowns. The top four tacklers on the team in Tim Stephenson, Aaron Cummins, Treyvon Brown and Emmanuell Mills were also seniors.
They do return top receiving target Dylan Giffen and his 26 receptions for 322 yards and six touchdowns along with Boomer Klusman, who led the team with three interceptions.
Scott opens up their season on August 18 at Campbell County.
Keep an eye on their team preview in our “21 teams in 21 days” series that will come out on August 9.