By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Covington Catholic made it to the semifinals of the Class 5A football playoffs last year with mostly seniors in the starting lineup. Coach Eddie Eviston is counting on a new set of seniors with varying degrees of varsity experience to lead the Colonels to another successful season this fall.
“I really like our senior group,” Eviston said. “You have a handful who already had that Friday night (game) experience and another handful that have been waiting for their shot and starting to get it right now. I look for them to blossom a little bit as we go along.”
CovCath coach Eddie Eviston is counting on a new set of seniors this season. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
The new combinations on offense and defense that Eviston and his staff put together will make their debut in a preseason scrimmage game against Simon Kenton at 7 p.m. Friday at CovCath. One week later, the Colonels will open the 2021 season at Cincinnati Elder, a team that made it to the region semifinals in the Ohio Division I playoffs last year.
Portions of the proceeds from Friday’s scrimmage game will go to the Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association Tom Potter Scholarship Fund and to Team “B”elieve, an organization providing support for families battling ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Eviston’s older brother, Brian, was diagnosed with ALS in 2016. That’s when Team “B”elieve was created and began planning fundraisers to support Brian and raise awareness of the degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Last season, CovCath place kicker Trey Gronotte created an online platform where people could make a donation to Team “B”elieve for every point he scored. He was one of the senior veterans who graduated last spring, along with dual-threat quarterback Caleb Jacob, who led the 2020 team in passing, rushing and scoring.
Eviston said the leading candidates for the starting quarterback position are seniors Adam Holtz and Preston Agee, a transfer student who played for Campbell County last season.
“We’ve always kind of built our offense around what that player can do,” Eviston said. “This season, I think these two senior quarterbacks are both going to play no matter what. They’re both going to play on the other side of the ball as well. But they’re very similar in their skill set. They’re both dual-threat quarterbacks, and that’s always good.”
CovCath junior linebacker Aiden Jones (No. 11) was the team’s second-leading tackler last season. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
CovCath’s returning starters on offense are linemen Sam Epplen, Thomas Schramm and Peyton Dietz. Like many of their teammates, Epplen and Schramm will also be defensive starters.
The Colonels do have a trio of veteran linebackers in seniors David Sullivan and Holtz and junior Aiden Jones, the team’s second-leading tackler last season with 52.
“Jones and Sullivan will be our inside backs,” Eviston said. “We’re going to rely on them to kind of be the generals of our defense. They each had a good offseason and summer, and we’re looking forward to them continuing to progress.”
The list of CovCath players who saw a good amount of varsity action last season includes running back Brayden Collins, wide receivers Garrett Benke and Zion Mason and linebacker Nick Darpel.
There’s a good chance they will all be playing on both sides of the ball as well in Friday’s scrimmage game. That will give CovCath’s coaching staff a chance to see what player combinations work best before the season begins.
“Everyone is trying to put the puzzle pieces together and I don’t think any team really figures it out until later in the year,” Eviston said. “But you try to get as good an idea as you can early on. That’s what we’re trying to do, especially as we gear up for a tough road at the beginning of the schedule.”
After their season-opener at Elder, the Colonels will play four Kentucky teams from different classes that went to the state playoffs last year. Belfry reached the Class 3A semifinals and Lexington Catholic was a Class 4A district champion. Dixie Heights made it to the Class 6A quarterfinals and Beechwood was the Class 2A state champion.
