By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
John “Woody” McMillen is returning to Northern Kentucky high school football as the new coach of the Bellevue Tigers.
McMillen, 46, was the first head coach of the Walton-Verona football program that started playing varsity games in 2008. One year later, he stepped down as head coach of the Bearcats due to an illness in the family, but he returned to become the team’s offensive line coach for four seasons. He did not coach last year because he was working as the school’s assistant athletic director.
“Walton-Verona is a great place to work and great place to teach,” McMillen said. “But in my mind there was a list of places that I’d be interested in going if a head coaching job came open and Bellevue is one that’s just steeped in tradition. Football has been very important to the Bellevue community and I’m really excited to be a part of that.”
McMillen was an assistant football coach at Ludlow for several years before taking charge of the Walton-Verona program. Ludlow and Bellevue are in the same Class 1A district along with Dayton and Beechwood.
“Beechwood, obviously, has been a measuring stick in Class A football since the 1980s, but those other schools have hard-nosed kids and football is important in their communities as well,” McMillen said. “It’s going to be really exciting to get down there and compete against those people again.”
Bellevue’s head coach the last two seasons was Johnny Poynter, who resigned in March to become the head coach at Bath County High School. The Tigers finished 7-5 and won one game in the Class 1A playoffs in each of its two seasons under Poynter.
“We had so many qualified applicants apply for our head football coaching position and we are absolutely thrilled to name (McMillen) as our new coach,” said Bellevue athletic director Jim Hicks in a prepared statement. “Coach McMillen brings such a wealth of knowledge and experience in both the classroom and the athletic field of play, and our student-athletes will benefit greatly from it.”
McMillen said he went to Bellevue on Tuesday to meet with the players. He also toured the school to get acquainted with the students and faculty that he will be joining in a few months.
“I really got a good vibe from talking with all the kids at Bellevue and I’m really excited about getting started,” McMillen said.”
Bellevue is one of three Northern Kentucky high school football teams that will have a change in leadership next season. Covington Catholic hired Eddie Eviston and Boone County named Marty Steele as the new head coaches of their respective teams.
Austin Schreck, leading scorer on the Dixie Heights boys’ basketball team that made it to the 9th Region semifinals last season, will continue his playing career at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
Capital competes as a member of the NCAA’s Division III and doesn’t award athletic scholarships, but Schreck ranks among the top students in his senior class and will receive academic scholarships to attend the university.
Scheck averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists during his senior season. He was voted among the top Division I players in the area by local coaches and received the Mr. Hustle Award in that division at the post-season coaches banquet. As a three-year varsity starter for the Colonels, Schreck posted career totals of 806 points and 438 rebounds.
He’ll be joining a Capital men’s basketball team that finished 8-18 overall and 6-12 in the Ohio Athletic Conference last season. Capital played Thomas More College in its season opener the last two seasons, but neither team has released its 2015-16 schedule yet.
The Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association has scheduled this year’s East-West Senior All-Star Game for 7 p.m. Thursday, June 11, at Beechwood High School.
The East team will include players from Highlands, Holmes, Brossart, Bellevue, Dayton, Dixie Heights, Campbell County, Covington Catholic, Newport and Newport
Central Catholic.
The roster for the West team will be comprised of players from Beechwood, Lloyd,
Ludlow, Scott, Simon Kenton, Ryle, Holy Cross, Boone County, Conner and Cooper.
Each team in the coaches association nominates seniors for college scholarship money and the recipients are announced during the all-star game.
Alexus Mayes, the only senior starter on the Holmes girls’ basketball team that was 9th Region runner-up last season, has been recruited by Cincinnati State, a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Mayes, a 5-foot-10 forward, averaged five points and four rebounds for the Bulldogs, who posted a 30-3 record with their only loses coming to the Holy Cross team that won the state championship.
Cincinnati State had a 19-12 record last season.