By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Jesse Herbst is looking forward to returning to Dayton High School as the new head coach of the football team. That’s where he played football and started his coaching career.
Herbst, 47, is a 1990 graduate of Dayton and joined the faculty after he graduated form college. He went to Simon Kenton High School in 2004 and spent the last 15 years as an assistant football coach for the Pioneers, who compiled a 130-56 record while he was on the staff.
Jesse Herbst
He’s leaving that highly successful program to take charge of a Dayton football team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2007. Over the last eight years, the Greendevils compiled a 13-74 record under former head coach Chad Montgomery, who resigned in October.
“My whole career has been laid out for me and it’s been wonderful,” Herbst said. “Now, toward the end of my career, I have a chance to take what I’ve learned and all my experience to a school that needs help.”
Herbst will also become head track coach at Dayton, a small-town school that competes on the Class 1A level.
The football team finished with an 0-9 record last season and forfeited three of its last five games because there weren’t enough players with an adequate amount of varsity experience to fill out a lineup. That’s the first issue the new coach will address.
“There are kids all over that school not playing sports because of a lack of success,” Herbst said. “It all comes down to two things — changing the culture and getting kids involved. If you can take care of that, everything else will take care of itself.”
Simon Kenton’s football team had a 2-4 record the first year Herbst joined their coaching staff. He eventually became the team’s defensive coordinator and helped head coach Jeff Marksberry build a program that has won 10 or more games the last six seasons.
“I am thankful for the work, commitment and loyalty he has given to me and our players over the years,” Marksberry said of Herbst. “He was a big part of building our program. I am extremely happy for him to have the opportunity to lead his own program and try to help re-establish the football program at his alma mater.”
Herbst, who plans to meet with the Dayton football players on Monday, said it was difficult deciding whether to leave Simon Kenton or finish out his career there.
“It breaks my heart, it really does,” he said. “It’s a great place with great kids and Jeff is a wonderful coach. If it were any other job, I wouldn’t have batted an eye at it and stayed at Simon Kenton. But this is home. It’s the Greendevils, and they need help. I’m not saying I’m anything special, but I’d like to try.”
Highlands senior guard surpasses 2,000 points in career scoring
Zoie Barth (Photo by Allen Ramsey / dwcphoto.com)
Senior point guard Zoie Barth became the fourth Highlands girls basketball player to break the 2,000 mark in career scoring during the championship game of the LaRosa’s Holiday Classic on Dec. 29 at Conner.
In that game, Barth scored 16 points to put her career total at 2,009. The three players ahead of her on the Highlands all-time scoring list are Jaime Walz-Richey (4,948 points), Tara Boothe-Smith (2,282) and Heather Kruger (2,111).
Barth is averaging 17.9 points per game this season. If she maintains that average, she could climb to the No. 2 spot behind Richey, who is now the team’s head coach.
The senior guard is among the Highlands career leaders in two other categories. She currently ranks fourth in steals (398) and seventh in assists (403) with 16 games remaining on the regular season schedule.
Barth is one of the top students in her senior class, but she has not made a college commitment. She wants to become a doctor and will base her college choice on achieving that goal.
CovCath plans to honor 2014 state champion basketball team
Covington Catholic will celebrate the five-year anniversary of its first state champion basketball team by recognizing the players, coaches and support staff at Friday’s home game against Conner.
The varsity game will begin at 6:30 p.m. and there will be a ceremony at halftime honoring the team that beat Scott County, 59-51, in overtime to claim the 2014 state title.
Conner head coach Matt Otte was an assistant on the CovCath staff that season. The Colonels finished with a 33-2 record, which was the most wins in team history. But that record was broken last season when the Colonels went 35-4 and won their second state championship under head coach Scott Ruthsatz.
