By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Mike Woolf, a former assistant football coach at Campbell County High School, is returning to the team as its new head coach.
Woolf was officially named head coach of the Camels on Monday. He replaces Steve Lickert, who resigned in January to become head coach at Newport Central Catholic.
“We are extremely excited to have Mike Woolf return to CCHS as our head football coach,” Campbell County principal Adam Ritter said in a release posted on the school’s website. “Mike brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion to our football program. He is an outstanding teacher and coach who cares deeply about his students and players. Coach Woolf is a leader who brings out the best in all those around him.”
Woolf was defensive coordinator for the Campbell County football team from 1997 to 2003. For the last 15 years, he has been assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Ryle. He was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association in 2014.
“I am excited to join the Campbell County community as the head football coach,” Woolf said in the release on the school’s website. “I look forward to sharing my passion for the great game of football with the student-athletes. The administration has raised the bar for academic standards and the facilities are second to none.”
Woolf is taking charge of a Campbell County football program that compiled a 37-45 record in seven seasons under Lickert. The Camels won two Class 6A district championships and went 5-7 in state playoff games during that time.
Last season, Campbell County posted a 7-5 record with senior quarterback Austin Hoeh and senior running back Alex Dowds providing most of the team’s offense.
Woolf is a 1988 graduate of Covington Catholic High School and played on the school’s first state championship football team in 1987. He was a first-team all-state selection and finalist for the Mr. Kentucky Football award that year.
He continued his football career at Thomas More College and was named a NCAA Division III All-American in 1992 and 1993. He has been inducted into the Thomas More Hall of Fame and the CovCath Hall of Fame.
After he graduated from college, Woolf was linebacker coach at Covington Catholic in 1994 when the Colonels won their fourth state championship. He coached at Newport Central Catholic the next two seasons before joining the Campbell County staff.