Holmes Hits Reset: Building for the Future, Not the Finish Line

Following consecutive winless seasons and a shrinking roster, the Holmes football team has opted out of district and postseason play for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

It is a move driven by necessity, but also grounded in optimism.

Now led by interim head coach Jon Hopkins, a longtime assistant who also serves as the school’s boys track and field coach and counselor, the Bulldogs are hitting reset. After 12 seasons under Ben Nevels, who guided the program to 50 wins and a landmark 2019 playoff victory, Holmes enters a new phase focused on reflection, development, and rebuilding.

Hopkins was part of the staff throughout Nevels’ tenure, and served as the offensive coordinator under his leadership. Now, he is determined to carry on Nevels’ vision and do everything he can to restore pride in the program.

“I want the kids to have pride in this program,” Hopkins said. “As well as pride in the Holmes community and the community of Covington. The last two seasons might not have been great, but these kids have been warriors. They’ve stayed with us through thick and thin and I think that shows a lot about their character and what we’re trying to build here.”

The recent challenges have been impossible to ignore. The Bulldogs are on a 22-game losing streak and had just 23 players on the roster in 2024. Their request to withdraw from Class 4A, District 5, which includes Covington Catholic and Highlands, was approved by the KHSAA in January. Holmes will still play a full schedule but will not be eligible for postseason competition.

Holmes’ current district includes Covington Catholic, Highlands, Mason County, and Harrison County. In the application to opt out, Holmes cited efforts to “save the football program.”

“We want to put our kids in a position to be successful,” Hopkins said. “Our schedule allows us to play teams that are comparable to us, and the goal of that is to progress these younger players to where, in two years, we can get back into a district and be competitive.”

The 2025 schedule includes four northern Kentucky teams: Boone County, Ludlow, Scott, and Holy Cross, along with Green County and Jackson County from Class 2A, Lewis County from 3A, Shelby County from 4A, and two other programs also opting out of district play, Ohio County and Thomas Nelson.

While the next two seasons will not involve district standings or playoff hopes, the focus shifts to building something sustainable, especially around a promising young core.

“We’ve got a lot of talented kids coming up from eighth grade, so I feel like we have a bright future,” said sophomore running back and defensive back Devon Dunaway. “Last year, we didn’t have that many people to sub out, so we were very tired in the third and fourth quarter. Now we can actually depend on people to sub us out so we can get a break.”

The Bulldogs now have 40 players on the roster, nearly doubling last year’s total.

There is also renewed energy off the field. Holmes recently completed a $26 million renovation that upgraded several athletic facilities, including a new weight room, locker room, and a multi-purpose turf run. For a school that had not undergone major improvements since its original construction in 1916, the upgrades are more than cosmetic. They represent a broader commitment to growth.

“If you’re in this place and don’t get excited about the future of the sports programs at Holmes, I don’t know what would,” Hopkins said. “The weight room, the facilities, the all-purpose field, the district is investing a lot of money into our student-athletes. They come in excited to lift weights. It’s not like a punishment to them. They know how fortunate they are, because some schools don’t have all of this.”

Holmes will open its 2025 season on August 22 against Boone County. There will be no district title to chase or playoff bracket to aim for, but the Bulldogs still have something to prove.

Over the next two years, the goal is to lay a strong foundation rooted in growth, consistency, and the belief that by 2027, they will be ready to rejoin district play and compete.