21 teams in 21 days: Holmes football preview

To the rest of Northern Kentucky – and everyplace else – the Holmes football team is known as the Bulldogs.

But sometimes, the coaching staff has a different name.

“We have the kind of joking moniker of ‘The Dirty 30’,” head coach Ben Nevels said.

Holmes usually ends up with around 35 players. This year, suiting up even that many might be challenging because of the Covington Independent School District’s calendar.

“With us, it’s always been, like, the closer you get to the school year, it seems like the more kids tend to come out,” Nevels said. “Unfortunately for us, this year we don’t start school ‘til Aug. 28.”

The Bulldogs have two games before school opens – at Boone County Aug. 18 and the home opener against Newport Aug. 25. If there aren’t enough players, Nevels will tour the city from the nearby Peaselburg and Austinburg to West Latonia, South Covington, Licking Riverside and the rest of the 24 neighborhoods.

So what could Nevels do?

“Beat the streets, beat the streets,” Nevels said. “Make a lot of phone calls, go knocking on doors – do whatever it takes to get the guys here. And what we say is, we’re gonna coach who we’ve got. So if we end up with 25 guys, we’ll coach 25 guys; if we end up with 40 guys, we’ll coach 40 guys.”

Holmes’ campus at 2500 Madison Avenue makes up the southern edge of Wallace Woods; the Levassor Park section starts with West Castle Court. What else you should know: there has been a football turnaround.

Nevels begins his 11^th season on the sidelines; he has a 51-59 record since 2013. But since a 21-44 nightmare from 2013-18, the Bulldogs are 29-15 with a couple of eight-win seasons mixed in since 2019 – part of a string of nine Class 4A playoff appearances in 10 seasons – and a 21-0 shutout of Harrison County in the 2019 first round, the Bulldogs’ first postseason triumph since 2009.

Holmes finished 6-5 last year, but duplicating that could be a challenge. 

The Bulldogs’ top three running backs – Curtez Hill (1,467 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns), Emauryon Arnold (817 and 14 scores) and Miguel Garcia (146 yards, five scores to go with 436 passing yards and six TDs), graduated, as did leading receiver Braidin Green (10 catches, 142 yards, two touchdowns).

Nevels knows he can’t replace Hill, Garcia, Green or the other nine seniors. He talks in terminology a bricklayer, carpenter or electrician would understand when building a house – it’s the philosophy he’s had his whole career.

“Our yearly motto was, ‘Lay one brick at a time’,” Nevels said. “And laying a foundation, a solid foundation. If you’re going to build anything sustainable, it’s gonna take time.”

Sophomore Xarion Foster is the projected starting quarterback – Nevels told him he had a chance to continue what Hill and others started. Foster’s first three-word thought: Just be ready.

“Just communicating with the offense,” Foster said.

Foster attempted three passes last year and didn’t complete any in limited reps. He said he’s concentrated on having better footwork.

“Just pointing my feet to my target, just being comfortable,” Foster said. “I feel like my ability to get the ball out is good; my accuracy needs some work.”

Senior receiver Mayne White should be one of Foster’s main targets. He’s also a defensive back, but he prefers offense.

“I like to play receiver more than DB,” White said. “I feel like that’s where I’m more comfortable; I practice more on the receiver side, more than I do the DB side.”

Joining White are junior Ryshawn Clifford a sophomore Jamari Lockett. Junior Ezaiah Tillman is the fullback.

Holmes’ defense got a huge boost from a serendipitous source. Former Beechwood head coach Noel Rash – who won 200 games and guided the Tigers to eight state titles in 17 seasons – is coaching defensive backs.

“Grace of God” is how Nevels describes finding Rash. The two have history – Rash was an assistant at Simon Kenton when Nevels was a freshman for the Pioneers.

“I’ve known him for a long time,” Nevels said. “He’s working in the (Covington) district now, and when I reached out to him and said, ‘Hey, do you want you coach football with us?’, he said, ‘Sure’.”

Senior cornerback Kayden Crowell intercepted five passes last year for 123 yards and a touchdown. He has a simple strategy for success.

“It’s really just staying disciplined, that’s the main point,” Crowell said. “Just eyeing the (receiver’s) hip and playing through the whistle.”

Despite having two games before the first day of classes, Crowell is confident everything will be copacetic – in excellent order.

“We’re getting better every week, every practice, every opportunity,” Crowell said. “It’s the little things; that’s what we’ve been focusing on. If we can do that, we’ll just get better every week and keep on improving.”

Holmes won’t have to go to Boyd County, Rowan County or Scott for Class 4A, District 5 games anymore. Joining the Bulldogs in the Class 4A, 5th District for the next two seasons are Covington Catholic (Sept. 22 in Park Hills), Mason County (at home Sept. 29), Grant County (at home Oct. 5) and Harrison County (Oct. 20 in Cynthiana).

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