Holy Cross Football Preview

The Cougars are one of the most competitive teams in the state year in and year out. Last season, Holy Cross reeled off a 7-6 record (6-0 in Class 1A District 2). The Cougars are fearless, playing teams well outside the ranks of 1A. Some of last year's losses came at the hands of 5A teams South Oldham (19-14) and Doss (25-19). Other losses included Class 2A DeSales (37-13), Class 3A Elizabethtown (22-7) and Class 1A powerhouse, Pikeville (28-18). On offense, the Cougars will look to its 5'9", 180 pound senior quarterback Jimmy Nauert. In 2007, Nauert carried the ball 122 times for 400 yards and 4 TDs. His passing efforts weren't diminished by his fleet feet. "Jimbo" completed 98 of 185 pass attempts for 1,375 yards, 12 TDs and 13 picks. Coach Weston is high on his soon-to-be 3-year starter. "Jimmy is football smart and very tough. He has really put on the muscle by living in the weight room all through the off season. Even while starting as a guard on the basketball team he worked out after practice or at 6:00am in the mornings to do his strength conditioning. I'm impressed with his dedication, I think some of our new stuff we're putting in the offense this year is custom made for his running and passing abilities." The Cougars also have junior Devin Brown returning at QB. He saw quality time last year and looks to see the same this season. Brown was 23 of 43 for 358 yards, 3 TDs and 3 picks. At running back, senior Sean McCardwell carried 51 times last season as a junior for 6 TDs and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. Unfortunately, McCardwell tore his ACL this summer and had surgery. "We planned on Sean getting a lot of touches this season, he looked great in the spring and 7 on 7. Sean says he'll be back by the playoffs in November, we'll just have to wait and see," said optimistic Coach Weston, "But out of adversity comes opportunity." At receiver, the Cougars have 6'2", 180 pound senior wide out Chad Hazelwood. Hazelwood had 34 receptions for 608 yards and 6 TDs last year. "Chad has great leaping ability and can get up above most defenders to catch the football. He's a great competitor and loves to get the call when the pressure is on. He's also a starter on the basketball team and dunks the ball with ease, that's a great asset as a wide receiver on the football field," Weston said. The offensive and defensive lines look solid this season. The Cougars return 4 quick and talented starting linemen from last year: 6'2", 245 pound senior Center Austin Jaggers, 6'1", 225 pound senior OG Jay Dolak, 6'2", 230 pound junior OT Nick Bunch and 6'1", 190 pound junior OG Austin Harlow. Other O-Linemen that saw quality reps and/or started some games are 6'1", 225 pound senior OG Logan Teagardner and 5'10", 230 pound junior OG Brad Lemmons. Both Logan and Brad suffered injuries that hampered their playing time last year. The D-line looks ready with 4 returning players from last year's rotation: Austin Jaggers, 6'5", 395 pound senior Justin Ward, Nick Bunch and 6'1", 325 pound sophomore Wes Strange. Look for Ward to make a BIG impact on teh d-line this year. Finally, the Cougars returning leading tackler is 6'0", 220 pound junior linebacker Matt Hans. Hans had 20 solo tackles, 41 assisted tackles, 8.5 tfl's, 1 sack, 1 pick, 1 fumble recovery and 1 safety last year. "Matt has stepped up his work outs this off season and is much stronger than last year," said Weston. With 6'1", 225 pound senior linebacker Jay Dolak returning after nearly missing all of last season with an injury that occurred on the first series of the first game, the Cougars look to pounce on offenses early this year. The Cross also returns 6'1", 190 pound junior linebacker Austin Harlow. "We've got some guys that really love to fly to the football," commented Weston. Holy Cross opens up the '08 campaign with a match-up against 2007 Class 3A state runner-up, Belfry. Belfry was 14-1 last season and beat its opponents soundly all year. The average margin of victory was almost 30 points! Good luck to the Cougars!