Since Head Coach Bryson Warner took over at his alma mater in 2019, Boone County has not been able to get over the hump and into the playoffs.
Also, that same year, the Rebels notched their last victory against Holmes. But tonight, the Rebels dispatched the Bulldogs, 31-0, as fifth year starting quarterback Jamar Hocker passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more.
“We’ve been up here on the field working (in the offseason) a couple days a week working on routes, chemistry, audibles, everything,” Hocker said. We’re a different team this year, for sure. I feel like we have a lot to prove this season so we’re going to be special. Today was the biggest win I think since I’ve been here. Home opener, senior year, big statement, very special for me.”
The Rebels first score came on Hocker’s one-yard run. The scoring drive was set up by a Josh Wick 16-yard run and Mason Hall’s 24-yard gainer on a jet sweep. Braxton Graves’ 29-yard run on a direct snap got the Rebels to the one. Hall caught a pass from Hocker for the two-point conversion. The lanky senior in Hall showed off his basketball instincts, catching the conversion like it was a rebound with his hands outstretched over the Bulldogs defender. Hall is back playing football for the first time since his freshman year.
With the 2023 season’s opening quarter down, Holmes looked poised to answer, getting to the Boone County 21 thanks to Ryshawn Clifford’s 16-yard run before the drive fizzled. Clifford could not find daylight on a jet sweep to the right, quarterback Xarion Foster was sacked, and his pass over the middle on fourth down fell incomplete.
Standout defensive lineman Justin Michael kept Holmes scoreless for the first half, recovering a fumble on the Bulldogs’ ensuing drive. Hocker then led the Rebels on a seven-play, 69-yard drive to end the half, culminating in a 19-yard touchdown pass to Graves as the horn sounded for halftime, as Boone stretched their lead to 16-0.
Bulldogs’ quarterback Xarion Foster showed his arm strength on the opening drive of the second half for Holmes, hitting receiver Mayne White in-stride down the sideline for a 66-yard gain. Michael kept Holmes’ momentum at bay, tackling Foster for a loss and following it up with another sack and a 10-yard loss, knocking the Bulldogs out of scoring range to help preserve the shutout.
“It starts with our staff. We have tremendous leadership in all three phases of the game and it’s a great group of guys to lead these Rebels…Justin Michael, he hasn’t played football since last year, extremely raw but he worked every day, and you saw what happened tonight,” Warner said. “We’ve seen this coming. It took him a while to learn the game but he’s at a high level.”
Following Michael’s exploits, Graves extended Boone’s lead to 24 with a catch-and-run over the middle for his second score of the night. Hocker’s 43-yard rush through the heart of the Bulldogs’ defense sealed one of the Rebels’ most dominant wins since Warner came back to the school he graduated from in 1992.
“Jamar Hocker is an unbelievable leader and has turned into an incredible young man and he’s one incredible quarterback for our football team,” he said.
Boone Co. (1-0) faces Lloyd next Friday night in Erlanger, while Holmes (0-1) returns to Covington to face Newport.