By Jake Dickman
NKyTribune sports reporter
Terry Brown spent the last 10 seasons as a defensive coordinator before getting hired as head coach of the Newport Central Catholic football program.
He must have been happy to find out the Thoroughbreds have six defensive starters returning from an 8-5 team that held each of its three Class 1A district opponents to one touchdown and posted shutouts in two other victories last season.
The senior veterans include linemen Aiden Tillman, linebackers Max Meyer and Van Hundemer and safety Parker Hurtt. The returning juniors are lineman Liam Horan and defensive linebacker Will Stevie.
“That is huge having those guys come back on that side of the ball.,” Brown said. “I really liked the way our box has played — our front seven especially — after our scrimmages against Ludlow and St. Henry. We were really physical up front. The defensive line did a great job, but overall, I was happy with the way the defense played.”
A 2000 graduate of NewCath, Brown played under legendary coach Bob Schneider and started his coaching career on his staff.
He was head coach at Pendleton County from 2010–2014 and then became the defensive coordinator at Covington Catholic from 2015 to 2025.
He’s returning to his alma mater for an historic season. NewCath now has a football field on campus and will play actual home games for the first time since the football program was started in 1935.
The Thoroughbreds enter the 2026 season after losing a substantial portion of their offensive production from last year’s team that lost in the region finals in the Class 1A playoffs.
The graduates included the starting quarterback, top three rushers, top five pass receivers and their best offensive lineman.
Inexperienced players are expected to step up and fill those major roles. One of them is Hurtt, who will take over as the starting quarterback in addition to playing safety.
“One thing you can’t deny about Parker is his athleticism,” coach Brown said. “When he touches the ball, he can do some special things. He is still trying to wrap his head around the offense and grasp the terminology, the reads and the concepts, but he is progressing very nicely.”
Vander Hundemer and Marvin Dukes are seniors expected to handle the workload at the running back positions.
“Vander has really stepped up huge for us and that started in the offseason,” Brown said. “As soon as basketball season was finished, he was in the weight room with us the very next day leading the charge offensively. He has really good vision and hits the hole hard and does a really good job running behind his shoulder pads.”
NewCath returns three key players on the offensive line in seniors Tillman and Noah Kohler and sophomore Will Meyer. They’ll provide leadership and stability for first-time starters who will be the trenches beside them.
“Having some returning starters and then some young guys step up like Liam Horan and Colton Ewing and a couple of juniors, I think that is going to kind of be the strength of our offense,” Brown said. “I’m hoping to be able to run the ball and try to instill some physical play up front, but I like the way our box has been playing and we should be able to get after it.”
The younger, inexperienced NewCath players have impressed the new coach by working to master the new system as they prepare to take on meaningful roles this season.
“We are going to move some pieces around and it will be a learning curve for both the players and the coaching staff,” Brown said. “Hopefully we can gear things up, get the right pieces in place come district time, and be rolling on a full cylinder through district and playoffs and peak at the right time.”
NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC THOROUGHBREDS
2025 SEASON: 8-5 record, lost to Campbellsville, 28-0, in Class 1A region finals.
STARTERS RETURNING: 3 offense, 6 defense.
DISTRICT: Class 1A, District 3 with Bellevue, Dayton, Newport.
HEAD COACH: Terry Brown (first year as head coach).
2026 SCHEDULE
Aug. 21 – LLOYD, 7 p.m.
Aug. 28 – at Paintsville, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 – at Boone County, 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 – CONNER, 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 – RACELAND, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 – CAMPBELL COUNTY, 7 p.m.
Oct. 9 – NEWPORT, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 – at Dayton, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 23 – BELLEVUE, 7 p.m.
Oct. 30 – at Mason County, 7:30 p.m.