By Chad Hensley
NKyTribune sports reporter
Despite being hit hard by graduation, Bellevue football coach Chad Montgomery is very optimistic about his 2026 squad, thanks to a talented group of skill players.
Bellevue has to replace a total of 19 starters (nine on offense and 10 on defense), but Montgomery likes to use the analogy “we just have to replace the roof not the entire house and foundation” when talking about this season’s team.
The foundation includes sophomore quarterback Evan Brooks. He started three games as a freshman, helping the Tigers earn two of their five wins over Iroquois (31-0) and Ludlow (12-7). He also picked up a start against district rival Newport Central Catholic.
“In those three starts, Evan definitely gained some confidence,” Montgomery said. “To watch him command control of the huddle with 10 seniors and to watch them rally around him was pretty cool. So last year being thrown into the fire and handling that pressure, we knew we had something special for years to come.”
While the Bellevue offensive scheme doesn’t include too many passing plays, Brooks will have a plethora of running backs to hand the ball off to in a modified version of the Wing-T offense.
The coach said senior Reggie Rolland, junior Kayden Brown and sophomore Meikel Richards are the ones “you will see in the stat line quite a bit.”
“Reggie is super elusive and very fast and this is his first year playing football,” Montgomery said. “Meikel just has one motor and I like to compare him to (NFL players) Darren Sproles but runs like Earl Campbell. Kayden should have a breakout year after he worked so hard in the weight room this offseason and he has speed, power and great vision.”
The one uncertainty will be the play of the offensive line, which will include five new starters this season. With so many pieces being moved around on any given series, it may remind Tigers’ fans of a jigsaw puzzle or Rubik’s Cube.
“We knew this was going to be an area we had to show a lot of improvement,” Montgomery said. “When you average about 6-foot-1 and about 250 pounds up front and go to about 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, you can’t just push guys around like we did last year. It’s still a work-in-progress and we’re trying and, to be honest, we’re still trying to piece the puzzle together. We’ll get some answers in our two scrimmages.”
One additional area that was hit hard due to graduation was the defensive front that saw Derrick Fortner (Mount St. Joseph), Arion Stuckey (Bluffton) and Kam Stokes (Wilmington) commit to NCAA Division III colleges.
Having three players from such a small school go on to play college football is a testament to the efforts that Montgomery and his staff have put into the program.
The top returning players new defensive coordinator Zack Jennings is working with include seniors Blake Fryman and Lucas Walton and juniors Avery Gramer and Bosley Lasita.
Lasita will be called upon to lead the way and be the defensive signal caller from his linebacker position. Walton, on the other hand, is the team’s leading returning tackler with 47 combined stops.
Whatever lineup the Bellevue team puts together, Montgomery knows the Tigers will be supported by the Bellevue faithful.
“Our community is great and Bellevue is a football town,” Montgomery said. “Last year, we packed the stands every week. We will be young and hungry and we’ll have some growing pains for sure, but we definitely need some energy the first few weeks to get the season going. While we want to be at our best by end of the year, it’s critical to have some support and get out of the gates quickly.”
BELLEVUE TIGERS
2025 SEASON: 5-6 record, lost to Brossart, 30-6, in first round of Class 1A playoffs.
STARTERS RETURNING: 2 offense, 1 defense.
DISTRICT: Class 1A, District 3 with Dayton, Newport, Newport Central Catholic.
HEAD COACH: Chad Montgomery (14-18 record in three seasons at Bellevue, 27-91 in 11 seasons overall).
2026 SCHEDULE
Aug. 21 – TRIMBLE COUNTY, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 28 – NICHOLAS COUNTY, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 – PENDLETON COUNTY, 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 – at St. Henry, 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 – at Louisville Iroquois, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 25 – at Ludlow, 7 p.m.
Oct. 9 – DAYTON, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 – NEWPORT, 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 – at Newport Central Catholic, 7 p.m.
Oct. 30 – at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.