There have been changes to head football coach positions at five schools in Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties in the off-season.
Three of the four schools in Kentucky’s largest Class 6A, District 6 will have new head coaches. Only Ryle’s Mike Engler returns this fall.
Two of the new head coaches in the district served in the same position at other schools and new Simon Kenton Head Coach Roy Lucas received a promotion. Former Highlands and Newport Head Coach Brian Weinrich took the job at Campbell County and Newport promoted assistant Ryan Hahn to fill that role. Then 2005 Covington Catholic graduate Patrick Burke took over at Dixie Heights.
Then in Class 1A, District 4, 1979 Campbell County graduate Dave Brausch took over the Bellevue Tigers. This is his sixth head coaching job.
Simon Kenton:
Lucas had been on staff as an assistant coach and ultimately the offensive coordinator since 2012 under Jeff Marksberry, who retired after last season.
Lucas retained most all the assistants from the previous staff. Lucas credited Marksberry for building that staff. The players do not have to get used to someone outside the program.
“Coach Lucas is not someone who makes enemies,” said Josh Bowling, Simon Kenton junior linebacker. “He really is a player’s coach. We trust him.”
The Pioneers had gone 159-103 with 15 winning seasons in 22 years after Marksberry took over the program in 2000. They finished 19-17 in the playoffs making it to the Class 6A state championship game in 2008. Louisville Trinity beat Simon Kenton, 48-0 in the title game.
“The biggest thing is relationships,” Lucas said. “It not the wins and losses. It goes beyond the x’s and o’s. You have to take care of people.”
Between 2013 and 2018, Simon Kenton went undefeated during the regular season in 2013 and 2015. The Pioneers made it back to the Class 6A state semifinals in 2015 losing 42-28 against eventual state runner-up Lexington Lafayette in Independence. Lucas earned the Assistant Coach of the Year honors by the Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association.
Lucas served as head coach at Simon Kenton previously for three years between 1997 and 1999 before he left to take over the Lloyd Memorial job. The Juggernauts finished 69-66 in his tenure from 2000 to 2010. They made the Class 2A semifinals in 2003 losing to eventual state champion Belfry, 21-13. Lucas served as an assistant coach at Campbell County in 2011 before coming back to Simon Kenton.
Simon Kenton finished 2-9 last season losing 38-7 to Dixie Heights in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs. The Pioneers graduate 14 seniors off that team out of 59 players listed on the roster.
“Nothing against the seniors from last year, but the majority of the play-makers were underclassmen,” Lucas said. “We return nine starters on offense and several on defense. We’re excited about what we have coming up in our junior and sophomore classes.”
The majority of the issues came on defense for Simon Kenton. Opponents outscored the Pioneers, 467-304 for an average of between 42 and 43 to between 27 and 28 per game.
Teams gashed Simon Kenton for 2,694 yards rushing and 2,655 passing for averages of just under 245 and between 241 and 242 passing per game. Lucas said the Pioneers are implementing the 40 defensive front.
“We’ve modified some drills,” Lucas said. “We just need to be more consistent with our schemes. We’re focused on putting players in better positions to make tackles.”
Bowling led Simon Kenton with 123 tackles including 81 solo last year. He also had three tackles for a loss including one quarterback sack. The Pioneers had eight fumble recoveries and just three interceptions last year.
The Pioneers put up 1,921 yards rushing and 1,763 passing for averages of between 174 and 175 rushing and just more than 160 passing per game. Lucas said Simon Kenton will continue to run the Spread offense with a Counter Trey Gap scheme including inside and outside zone runs.
But junior Chase Crone returns for his fourth year starting at quarterback for Simon Kenton. Crone completed 112 of 214 passes for 1,638 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions last year. Crone also rushed for 693 yards on 215 attempts for 14 touchdowns averaging just more than three yards per carry.
Simon Kenton also returns its top rusher and pass catcher from last year. Junior running back Jayden Lawson rushed for 898 yards on 175 carries for 11 touchdowns averaging just more than five yards per carry. Junior wide receiver Chase Williams also returns after catching 59 passes for 800 yards and six touchdowns last year.
Lucas comes from a family of coaches. His Uncle Jerry led the Ohio State Buckeyes to three straight NCAA championship games winning the crown in 1960. He then won seven NBA All-Star honors winning the NBA championship with the New York Knicks in 1973. Lucas’ brother Jerry is the head coach at Collins and his late father in Roy Lucas, Sr. coached football at the high school and college levels.
Simon Kenton opens the season Aug. 19 at Oldham County.
Dixie Heights:
Burke had been the head coach for the New Richmond (Ohio) Lions across the river the previous five seasons. The Lions finished 30-19 during those five seasons making the Ohio playoffs twice.
New Richmond lost in the second round both times in 2020 and 2017. The 2017 team finished 9-3 overall finishing in a three-way tie with Clinton Massie and Goshen for the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference American Division crown.
Burke spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons as an assistant working his way up to defensive coordinator at New Richmond before receiving the promotion to head coach. He’d previously served as an assistant at Covington Catholic, Grant County and Lloyd Memorial after playing college football at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky.
Burke teaches Physical Education at Hinsdale Elementary in Edgewood. Dixie Heights is 10 minutes from his home.
“Obviously, anytime you can come back home is great,” Burke said. “Just looking at the district as a whole where the high school sits in Northern Kentucky and just keeping a close eye on the teams over the year, it was very, very enticing to me to want to apply for the job. Knowing some of the guys that had coached here and hearing what they said about the school and the Director of Athletics (Derek Bosse), it was something that interested me greatly. I think this area has enough people, has enough talent to where Dixie can certainly hold its own in our district and in Northern Kentucky in general.”
Dixie Heights finished 7-5 last year losing 36-7 at Ryle in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs. That marked the best record for the Colonels since going 13-2 and finishing state runner-up in Class 6A in 2014. Dixie Heights drove to the third round of the Class 6A playoffs in 2020 losing to Louisville Trinity. Dixie Heights graduates 21 seniors this spring.
Long-time followers of the program still talk about the 2004 upset win over Trinity, 14-10 in the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs. Burke could not say the word consistency enough when talking about seeing more wins like that.
“There’s tradition here. They’ve had some great years,” Burke said. “It’s being organized. It’s being focused and intentional about how we go about practice, teaching schemes, organizing weight rooms and so forth every single day.”
Burke brought over some assistants from the staff at New Richmond and retained two assistants from the previous staff. He said eight staff members oversee workouts daily. He said things are progressing nicely.
“It’s really about relationships you build and how you go about your work day in and day out. If kids really see that you care, you love them and that’s what you’re focused on, then the trust will take care of itself,” Burke said. “It’s learning about our kids, learning about their lives outside of football, talking to them not just in the weight room. In the first week, second week here, we went to dinner hanging out talking about other things besides football. When they come in and they see the detail and the attention to our daily work and organization of it, I think they quickly gain your trust and respect. We’re certainly seeing that carry over now.”
Burke said 88 returning players have shown up in the weight room daily. Burke noted even the spring sports players are coming in at 6 a.m. to lift weights.
“Showing up every day has really helped us with meeting our new coaches and getting to interact with them,” said Caleb Hinkle, Dixie Heights running back/outside linebacker. “The trust among players I feel comes from the bond we’ve built through the past four years.”
All four teams in the district have won at least one district championship since 2011. Ryle enters the season as the favorite.
“It’s great competition. There are excellent head coaches from top to bottom,” Burke said. “You look at this district then you look at the Louisville District (3). Those are the top districts in the state in my opinion. It’s going to be tough. But I like where we stand.”
Dixie Heights plans to run a smashmouth Spread offense and odd-stack defense such as the 3-3-5 or the 3-5-3. Burke said he plans to run an up-tempo offense like his teams at New Richmond did.
The staff has been working with the quarterbacks trying to get them ahead of the curve in the new system because of the differences in the system from last year. The staff will install them on paper April 1. Burke said the Colonels have 15 days from April 23 to May 14 to have 10 practices.
Dixie Heights opens the season Aug. 19 against Lloyd Memorial at home. Game time is 7 p.m.
Bellevue:
Brausch brings 40 years of coaching experience to the Tigers including 19 as a head coach with an overall record of 127-79.
The Alexandria resident spent the last three season as a quarterbacks coach at Holmes. His most recent head coaching job came at Bracken County in 2017 and 2018 leading the Polar Bears to a 13-8 mark. Bracken County finished 8-3 in 2017 and won the lone playoff game in school history knocking off Fairview, 36-6 in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs.
“I wanted one more chance at a head coaching job,” Brausch said. “I have had some good luck in my days as a coach so I thought this would be a great opportunity to bring them back and try to restore some of that tradition.”
Brausch has also been a head coach at Lebanon, Amelia, Perkins and Clermont Northeastern in Ohio. He coached the Lebanon Warriors from 1995 to 2004 leading Lebanon to the Division II state championship in 1998 with a 27-21 win over Chardon.
The Tigers have two 1A state championships in 1979 and 1977 with state runner-up finishes in 1976, 1980, 1981 and 1990. But the Tigers have struggled lately going 3-27 the last three seasons including three losses in four meetings to “Battle for the Paddle” arch-rival Dayton. Bellevue had won 15 of the previous 16 meetings in that series.
Bellevue finished 1-10 last year losing 36-20 to Newport Central Catholic in the first round of the playoffs. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association did away with inter-district playoff games in the first two rounds of the playoffs this year after doing it three straight seasons.
The Tigers have not had a winning season since post 7-5 records four straight years between 2011 and 2014. The 2014 season is also the last time the Tigers have won a playoff game.
Bellevue made the second round of the Class 1A playoffs every year from 2009 to 2014. The Tigers last made the third round of the playoffs in 2009.
Brausch cited low numbers as the reason for struggles in recent years. The Tigers listed 28 players with 12 seniors on the 2021 squad. They finished with 22. But so far, Brausch said he has 40 players who will be in grades 9 through 12 next year signed up so far. He hopes to have at least 35 on the sidelines.
“I went to basketball games once I got hired and talked to kids,” Brausch said. “The kids are the best recruiters. If you can get a couple kids behind you that can help you recruit your own players in that school, hopefully they bring three or four with them. Then another kid brings five or six with him.”
Bellevue struggled to score points last year putting up just 114 for an average of just more than 10 per game. Opponents shut them out three times last year. The Tigers gave up an average of 41.5 points per game.
The Tigers put up 1,746 yards rushing and just 71 passing last year for averages of 145.5 and around 6.5 per game. Opponents rushed for 2,159 and passed for 1,454 for averages of just above 196 rushing and 132 passing per game.
The leading returning rusher for Bellevue is sophomore Henrik Steffens. Brausch said he knows the importance of building trust between the coaches and players.
“One of the things you have to do is you have to be genuine,” Brausch said. “You have to be yourself. You have to let them know that you care. Once they know you care, that’s a big part of getting them out then once they come out, getting them to play hard for you. You can’t be a phony. They’ll see through you right away if try to be somebody you aren’t. Hopefully some of the things I’ve done in the past, they see that. They know about that because other people have told them about me coming in. Hopefully, that helps them have some confidence in me. Hopefully, it will get on a role and go.”
He pointed out that a few players can carry baseball and basketball teams. But numbers make the difference with football. He hopes to be able to play some of the freshmen and sophomores on a junior varsity team.
Brausch started playing in the Fifth Grade. He wanted to become a coach by his senior year in 1978 under first-year Head Coach Don Shelton.
“I had a good family. I had a good home life. It wasn’t anything like that,” Brausch said. “But he was almost like a second father figure. I just wanted to be like him. I don’t know what it was. I only played for him for one year. The man had that about himself. That’s why I decided to coach.”
Brausch said the game may have changed over the year in how teams line up among other things. But it still comes down to how well teams can block and tackle.
“You can run whatever offense you want or whatever defense you want,” Brausch said. “That’s important. I believe some situations for kids have changed. More kids probably have to work to help their family nowadays than what they did when I was a kid or when I started coaching. They have the video games and all those things that they didn’t have when I was a kid or started coaching. But kids are still kids. They want to be disciplined. They want to be loved. They want to be cared about. That’s what they still are at ages 15 and 16 years old. So that part hasn’t changed a bit.”
Brausch is not sure what schemes he’ll implement at Bellevue yet. He has to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of the returning players first.
“In college or pro, you can go out and get the guy that fits your system and run your offense or defense,” Brausch said. “In high school, you have to be willing to adapt and change based on the talent you have.”
Brausch recalled running the option one year in his first head coach job at Lebanon with one quarterback. When that quarterback graduated, they had more of a drop-back passer similar to Miami Dolphins legend Dan Marino. The team went from throwing the ball seven or eight times a game to 25 times per game.
Brausch still teaches Senior Math at Holmes. He’s not sure where he will be in terms of that after May.
Bellevue opens the season Aug. 19 at home against Holy Cross.