The NKyTribune is featuring players on each of the 21 high school football teams in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties leading up to the first games of the 2023 season on Friday, Aug. 18. We will then provide focused coverage of local teams throughout the regular season and into the playoffs.
By Sarah Mae Wilson
NKyTribune sports reporter
Bellevue ended the 2022 football season three games early due to a lack of players and finished with an 0-9 record that included two forfeits. With a new set of coaches and expanded roster, the Tigers expect to bounce back this season.
The team’s current 27-player roster has 11 seniors, three juniors, 10 sophomores and three freshmen. New head coach Chad Montgomery said his long-range goal is to restore the winning culture the Tigers had when he graduated in 2001.
The coaching staff wants to develop the sophomores on the roster. One of them is lineman Patrick Vogt, who started all seven games as a freshman. He wasn’t among the team leaders, but he said the varsity playing time “helped me grow stronger and get experience. This is a great chance to build for the future.”
Bellevue’s returning players are striving to do well for last year’s seniors who didn’t get to finish their final season. They were an inspiration for their younger teammates and one of them was Vogt’s older brother, Aaron, who played four years of varsity football for the Tigers.
The younger Vogt will be a two-way starter at offensive tackle and defensive end. this season. He was credited with six tackles and one quarterback sack in seven games as a freshman.
“I like being on the offensive line because everyone needs to work together,” he said. “I like playing defense because I get the chance to make a big play.”
The returning sophomores also include quarterback Tristan Woodyard and running back Jordan Pendleton. Last season, Woodyard had 422 yards in passing and rushing combined. Pendleton netted 300 yards in rushing and receiving.
Woodyard got more than half his total yards in a 65-20 loss to Magoffin County. The Tigers scored only one touchdown in their other six games. The top four tacklers on last year’s defensive unit that allowed 346 points were seniors who have to be replaced.
Vogt’s main goal this season is to be a positive figure, not just for his team but to the community. Like many small cities, high school football has been a part of life for generations of Bellevue families.
“I want to help bring positivity to my teammates, school and the community to prove to everyone that Bellevue isn’t going away,” Vogt said.
“I’m really grateful for all the work my teammates and coaches are putting in. It shows how much they want to win and that’s a great culture to be a part of.”
The first goal for the new and returning players is snapping a 15-game losing streak that dates back to the 2021 season. The last time Bellevue opened a season with a win was 2015.
All of that will undoubtedly be running through the minds of the players and coaches on Saturday when they take a road trip to Eminence for this year’s first game. With the statewide realignment, Bellevue will face Dayton, Newport and Newport Central Catholic in three consecutive Class 1A district games during October.
The Tigers’ biggest game is the annual “Battle for the Paddle” against Dayton, one of the longest-standing rivalries in Kentucky high school football. This year, it means a little more since Montgomery spent eight years as Dayton’s head coach.
“They beat us the last few years, but we want to get the paddle back. We want to win that game for our coach,” Vogt said.
BELLEVUE TIGERS
2022 SEASON: 0-9 record, did not compete in Class 1A playoffs.
DISTRICT: Class 1A, District 3 with Dayton, Newport, Newport Central Catholic.
HEAD COACH: Chad Montgomery (13-73 record in eight seasons, first year at Bellevue).
2023 SCHEDULE
Aug. 19 – at Eminence, 8 p.m.
Aug. 25 – at Trimble County, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 1 – RIVERVIEW EAST ACADEMY (Ohio), 7 p.m.
Sept. 9 – LYNN CAMP, 6 p.m.
Sept. 22 – GAMBLE MONTESSORI (Ohio), 7 p.m.
Sept. 29 – LUDLOW, 7 p.m.
Oct. 6 – at Dayton, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 – NEWPORT, 7 p.m.
Oct. 20 – NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC, 7 p.m.
Oct. 27 – at Jackson County, 7:30 p.m.
OTHER 2023 PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEWS