This story originally appeared in the October 4 edition of the weekly LINK Reader. To get these stories first, subscribe here.
Paul Wiggins remembers the conversation. It was the middle of winter and he was feeling the chill. After parting ways with the Bishop Brossart High School football program in January, the coach met with Newport’s Ryan Hahn. For both men, it was an opportunity. For the Wildcats’ football team, it was a fateful encounter with reverberations still being felt today.
Hahn was preparing for his third season as Newport head football coach, following an 8-4 finish. Wiggins, a teacher in the Newport school system, had been head coach at Bishop Brossart for the past 10 years. Hahn liked the idea of adding to his staff an experienced coach who was already on campus. Wiggins, a middle school special education teacher with nearly 70 career wins, was newly available. It was a bonus that Wiggins is a 1986 Newport graduate who once played football for the Wildcats.
“I talked with coach Hahn,” Wiggins said. “I told him I could help the team out.”
The conversation continues to pay dividends.
In the aftermath, Wiggins accepted Hahn’s invitation to join his staff. Wiggins proved a quick study and bonded with the Wildcats. Seven months later, Newport is a surprise team in northern Kentucky. The Wildcats were one of two area unbeatens after five weeks of play with a 4-0 record, their best start in five years.
They were not only undefeated but they were also unyielding, ranking fifth statewide in Class A scoring defense, and they remained unbowed. The Wildcats have endured ups and downs, twists and turns, unexpected events and enough behind-the-scenes developments to fill a sports movie.
But this is not a film full of plot twists. This is real life with real surprises and significant life-shaping consequences for real people, all within a calendar year.
Through it all, the players on the Newport football team stayed together and held strong.
“It feels awesome,” quarterback Kyle Lee said of the Wildcats’ success. “It’s really great.”
Newport’s twists and turns began Jan. 3 at another school. That’s the day Bishop Brossart parted ways with Wiggins, architect of seven winning seasons in Alexandria. The Mustangs fell to 5-6 in Wiggins’ final season after posting a 9-3 record in 2022. When Wiggins and Hahn first talked Newport football, Hahn was all ears. They had little inkling how impactful their conversation would be.
“I said I could help with the defensive line, receivers and special teams,” Wiggins recalled. “I left Brossart in January, and I was on the Newport staff by spring.”
On June 19, Wiggins was Newport’s head football coach following Hahn’s surprise resignation, becoming the team’s third coach in four years. Newport’s athletic director retired. Through all the changes, the players stayed committed.
“I love our new coaches. They keep us in check,” said lineman Jaylan Hartness, a state leader in sacks along the newly installed three-man front.
The new athletic director was hired in time to oversee the final phase of the football team’s return home. Newport Stadium, built in 1937, failed a building inspection and was out of use for two seasons. The venue underwent a complete renovation, forcing Newport to hold practices and play its games elsewhere.
All the while, the players remained focused on football.
The Wildcats and their new head coach recalibrated after the team lost nearly one-third of the roster to graduation. This paved the way for a large freshman class accounting for nearly a third of the 2024 squad. There are just six seniors, including co-captains Lee and Hartness. Players are learning a revamped offense and a new base defense. Lee has buckled down in the spread attack which has added formations and set plays.
With all the uncertainty swirling around them, Lee and Hartness said coach Wiggins’ head-coaching experience has been a key factor in stabilizing the team. With the focus on football, the Wildcats have been able to drill down on key aspects of their play.
“It’s team execution,” Lee said. “We’re practicing hard and winning.”
The unwavering Wildcats weren’t even at full strength. Two-way standout Amontae Lowe, one of Lee’s top receivers, missed three games with an eye infection. Rod Thompson, the leading ball carrier, missed two games with an injury. There were other aches and pains that kept the team less than 100 percent.
The available players soldiered on and didn’t lose a game the first month of the schedule.
“The players deserve the credit,” Wiggins said. “It goes with the buy-in.”
The results have been satisfying. Newport started 4-0 while also punching above its weight. The Wildcats opened with a 36-14 victory at Class 2A Carroll County. They shut out 4A Holmes 27-0 in Covington. They won their first home game in three years, beating 6A Boone County, 24-20 on homecoming night. The Wildcats won at Ludlow, 32-30, avenging a loss to the Panthers in the second round of last year’s Class A playoffs.
Newport didn’t suffer a loss until its fifth game against Lloyd Memorial, a team that plays two classes above the Wildcats in 3A. Newport takes on city rival and returning Class A state quarterfinalist Newport Central Catholic Oct. 11. The final three regular season opponents are District 3 rivals Bellevue and Dayton, and District 4’s Holy Cross. Newport beat all three last year.
“We’re trending in the right direction,” Wiggins said. “Right now, it’s the defensive side making it possible and giving the offense a chance. We’re still waiting on the offense to break out.”
