As a freshman, Billy Holden made the Bainbridge-Guilford varsity football team as an offensive lineman. He was already over 200 pounds, had natural strength to go with his size, and adapted quickly to the varsity speed earning a starting spot at tackle.
The next season, Holden was again slated as a lineman, but his exceptional quickness and speed earned him some looks at fullback. Holden rushed for seven touchdowns, mostly in short yardage roles. In the Bobcats’ final game of the season, a playoff loss to Groton, Holden was inserted at fullback, and he ran the ball down the field in nearly unstoppable fashion scoring a late touchdown.
It was at that point, the B-G coaching staff determined what his future position on the field would be. “I think Billy always thought he had the potential to be a decent running back,” said B-G head coach, Tim Mattingly.
One has to wonder if Holden, as a freshman, ever envisioned the success he is now having as the go-to offensive threat for the Bobcats.
Coming off a 600-yard season as a junior, Holden had the breakout game of all breakout games last weekend. He scored four rushing touchdowns and added a long TD reception guiding his club to a 41-31 win over UV-Edmeston. Holden’s exceptional opening game has earned him our honor as Smith Ford Supercenter/Evening Sun Athlete of the Week.
“He (Holden) beat us,” said UV-Edmeston coach Brian Banks. “(B-G) beat us on a couple of long passes, but Holden was just so big, strong, and fast. We hit him high, and it wasn’t going to happen. With a big kid that fast, he won’t go down. And (Holden) did not go down.”
After UV-E stunned the Bobcats early, first with an kickoff return for a TD to start the game, then giving up another long TD run, B-G and Mattingly turned to Holden. The senior back scored four straight touchdowns for his team as part of 27-point unanswered run. He scored on runs of 36, 3, and 11 yards, and added an 80-yard TD reception from Corbin Palmer. Holden also had a long breakaway run in which he was just caught at the three-yard line. If not for the fantastic speed of the UV-E secondary, Holden would have scored another long TD. In the fourth quarter, Holden polished off his quintet of scores crashing in from three yards out.
Mattingly said that Holden’s two years of experience blocking B-G’s rushing schemes has helped him as a running back. “He’s able to recognize what is going on, and he knows what his footwork needs to be before the snap,” the B-G coach said. “Any little adjustments we need to make, he understands that.”
Over the past decade-plus, Mattingly has coached some of the best Bobcats backs in school history. Holden, while not a speedburner in the mold of Dakota Vandermark and Dustin Ross, is extremely fast for his size, and his power running matches up with previous greats such as Eric Finch, Willie McGinest, and John Stevens. “He’s just a brute runnng the ball and a tough kid,” Mattingly said. “I think (Billy) was ready to have a breakout year, and he expects good things out of himself.”
We expect more good things for Holden, too, and his success will go a long way toward B-G’s 2011 playoff hopes.