By Chad Hensley
NKyTribune sports reporter
After a disappointing 3-8 season in 2024, the Holy Cross Indians look to rebound in head coach Curt Spencer’s sophomore campaign.
Spencer’s squad returns 16 starters (seven on offense, nine on defense) that had as many as eight freshmen and eight sophomores starting on any given night on 2024. The varsity experience they gained will go a long way toward a potential Class 1A district title push this season.
“The returning starters are mostly the freshmen and sophomores who got a lot of snaps last year,” Spencer said. “We only have four returning juniors from last year. They worked hard in the offseason and have gotten a lot stronger.”
The Indians have a trio of players who are garnering attention from a bevy of colleges, including one player receiving major attention from Power-4 conference schools.
“Max Hunt has offers from Kentucky and Miami (Ohio) and turned heads while attending camps this offseason at Vanderbilt, Louisville, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, to name a few,” said Spencer. “Littello Johnson has several Ivy League schools communicating with him. Tommy Maddox has several Sprint Football offers, including Calumet College of Saint Joseph (Ind.).”
Hunt, a dual-sport athlete with an impressive 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame, is the team captain who plays tight end and defensive end for the Indians. He led last year’s young team in receptions (20), receiving yards (216) and receiving touchdowns (2) while also tying for a team-best three defensive sacks alongside Johnson.
Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 350-pound lineman, will also be a thorn in the side of the opposition as he will anchor both sides of the ball. In 2024, He led the team in total tackles (73) and his nine tackles for loss were more than double anyone else on the team.
According to Spencer, Maddox will move from quarterback to wide receiver this season and sophomore Brian Ferguson will be running the offense. Ferguson was the starting quarterback in the team’s first two games in 2024 and then missed the rest of the season due to a non-contact injury.
The Holy Cross running game will rely heavily on senior Trevin Figgs, who led the way in 2024 with 502 rushing yards on 110 carries, and Charles Oglesby, a junior who transferred from Simon Kenton.
Holy Cross fans will see a fresh look on the defensive side as Spencer and his coaching staff are switching to a 4-3 formation after having allowed an average of 136.6 yards on the ground and 132.7 yards through the air last season.
The Indians will once again compete in Class 1A, District 4 alongside Ludlow, Bishop Brossart and Trimble County and coach Spencer has peppered the early schedule with challenging opponents that are equal in size to his crew.
“We have a very competitive district and that is our main goal, to win our first district title together,” said Spencer. “We added some good schools like Bracken County, Eminence, Frankfort and Clermont Northeastern (Ohio). They are similar in size and extremely competitive.”
Holy Cross will have the distinction of playing in St. Henry’s first varsity game in school history when the two teams open the season on Aug. 22 with a 7 p.m. kickoff at St. Henry.
HOLY CROSS INDIANS
2024 SEASON: 3-8 record, lost in first round of Class 1A playoffs.
STARTERS RETURNING: 7 offense, 9 defense
DISTRICT: Class 1A, District 3 with Brossart, Ludlow, Trimble County.
HEAD COACH: Curt Spencer (3-8 record in one year as head coach).
2025 SCHEDULE
(All home games at Thomas More College)
Aug. 22 – at St. Henry, 7 p.m.
Aug. 29 – BRACKEN COUNTY, 7 p.m.
Sept. 5 – at Clermont Northeastern (Ohio), 7 p.m.
Sept. 12 – HOLMES, 7 p.m.
Sept. 26 – EMINENCE, 7 p.m.
OCT. 3 – FRANKFORT, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 – at Brossart, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 – TRIMBLE COUNTY, 7 p.m.
Oct. 24 – at Ludlow, 7 p.m.
Oct. 30 – at Bellevue, 7 p.m.