Rivalry refreshed
Calvert Hall and Loyola Blakefield name new head football coaches on the same day
The annual Turkey Bowle between arch-rivals Calvert Hall and Loyola Blakefield has perservered through 104 editions, but in the span of one hour on Tuesday afternoon, the course for the next generation of the contest was put in place, as each school named their new head football coaches.
Calvert Hall turned to a fresh face, naming Tyler Ward, a former Lehigh University standout who comes to The Hall via Pennsylvania's Bethleham Catholic High School, while Loyola selected a coach with a proven championship pedigree in the state of Maryland, as well as within the MIAA, when it named Rich Holzer, most recently of Northern-Calvert High, to lead its program.
Ward was 13-13 in his two seasons at Bethleham Catholic, going 7-6 in 2023 and leading the Golden Hawks to the PIAA District 11 Class 4 championship. Bethleham Catholic was his first head coaching assignment. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at both Savannah Country Day School in Georgia and Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ward began his coaching career with a two-year stint as an assistant at Franklin & Marshall University before servining four years as a defensive assistant at Lehigh, where was an All-Patriot League defensive back, a team captain and two-time Patriot League champion before graduating in 2014. He replaces Josh Ward (no relation) who stepped down in December and is now the head coach at Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Holzer's head coaching career in Maryland dates back to 2008 when he was hired at Parkdale High School in Prince George's County. After three seasons, he moved to Meade High School in Anne Arundel County where he went 33-13 and led the Mustangs to the first postseason appearance in school history, as well as back-to-back state semifinal appearances (2012-2013). In a twist of irony, Holzer then went to Mount St. Joseph and replaced current Loyola athletic director Blake Henry. Henry severd as the Dons interim coach last season, following the departure of former coach Anthony Zeyhoue, giving Holzer the distinction of succeeding Henry for the second time.
Under Holzer, Mount St. Joseph won the 2019 MIAA A Conference championship, it's first outright league crown and its first varsity football championship since sharing the A Conference title with Loyola in 2007. In 2020, Holzer accepted the head coaching position at Northern High in Calvert County, close to his home at the time, and led the school's football team for the last four full seasons, winning the Maryland Class 3A state championship in 2021.
He played his high school football at Archbishop Stepinac in New York and then was a three-year starter on the offensive line at Hofstra University. He returned to Stepinac to begin his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater and then moved to Maryland to serve as an assistant at Westlake High, before landing the opportunity at Parkdale.
Loyola leads the all-time Turkey Bowl series, which is now played at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium on Thanksgiving morning, 52-44-8 and has won three of the last four meetings. Calvert Hall had won 10 of 11 prior to the Dons' current run.