The brotherhood: Family ties run deep as College of Idaho wins its football season opener
Coming out of halftime Saturday in College of Idaho’s season opener, quarterback Jacob Holcomb sought out his brother, Nathaniel, to get some warm-up throws in before the start of the second half.
When Holcomb threw the first touchdown pass of his college career in the third quarter, he didn’t have to look for his brother. Nathaniel was the first player off the sideline to greet him and celebrate.
“That’s probably one of the coolest moments I could have right now,” Jacob Holcomb said. “That’ll be a memory I’ll hold dear for a long time.”
Holcomb completed 13 of 19 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown on Saturday and led College of Idaho to a 26-12 victory over Montana State-Northern.
He made the start about six months later than he expected after the Frontier Conference postponed the fall season because of COVID-19. To earn those starting reps, he had to go head to head with his older brother in camp this spring.
“We’re both very supportive of each other,” Jacob Holcomb said. “But it was a battle.”
Nathaniel, who is two years older than his brother, said they’ve been competing all their lives, but this season marked the first time they battled it out to start at the same position.
At Puyallup High School in Washington, Jacob played running back and wide receiver until he took over at quarterback when Nathaniel graduated.
“I’m actually kind of surprised how we’ve handled it,” Nathaniel Holcomb said. “It has come up a couple times, but no matter who the starter is, we both know we have full support, and we’re both just glad we got the win today.”
Every college football program touts its brotherhood, but at College of Idaho, the Coyotes take the concept literally.
The Holcombs are one of four sets of brothers on the roster. They’re joined by wide receivers Brock and Connor Richardson, safety Taeson and cornerback Dorian Hardin and Joe and Nick Calzaretta — both of whom played major roles in Saturday’s win.
Nick, a senior, led the Yotes with 89 rushing yards and scored on runs of 26 and 2 yards. Joe, a freshman, led the team with 13 tackles.
As if there weren’t already enough family ties on the roster, coach Mike Moroski and his staff are recruiting another Holcomb. Luke is two years younger than Jacob and he’s also a quarterback, so if he joins the Yotes, next season’s battle to win the starting job could get even more interesting.
“I think that says a lot about the program,” Moroski said. “Families have to sacrifice to send their kids here because no one is on full scholarship, so they must like what we’re doing and my mission in life is to make sure that sacrifice is worth it.”
Jacob Holcomb said he found out this week that he was going to start. He led the Yotes (1-0) into halftime with a 13-0 lead on Saturday, and he made it a three-possession game with his biggest throw of the day late in the third quarter.
After redshirt freshman defensive lineman Gino Allen recovered a fumble inside the Yotes 10-yard line, Holcomb hit Brock Richardson on a 72-yard touchdown pass to give College of Idaho a 19-0 lead.
“The best thing about him is he doesn’t get flustered,” Moroski said of his starting quarterback. “It doesn’t matter if he throws a pick or gets sacked, he just keeps going, and when he had his chance today, he made the throws we needed.”
Holcomb got some help Saturday from a defense that held Montana State-Northern (0-1) to 93 rushing yards, racked up five sacks, forced four turnovers and kept the Lights off the scoreboard until the fourth quarter.
“Defensively, I was really impressed with our preparation,” Moroski said. “We got some pressure up front and did some really good things with our linebackers and on the back end. I thought we tackled really well, and forcing turnovers and getting on the ball always helps.”
With the game well in hand in the fourth quarter, former Capital High quarterback Ryan Hibbs replaced Holcomb and connected with Isaiah Veal on an 18-yard touchdown pass to give the Yotes a 26-0 lead with a little more than 14:00 to play.
Montana State-Northern got on the board for the first time when quarterback Brendin Medina hit Dorian Miles on a 7-yard touchdown pass with a little less than 6:00 to play.
The Lights found the end zone again on a 7-yard run from Andrez Trahan-Proctor with 3:25 left. They failed to convert two-point conversions after both touchdowns.
College of Idaho is back in action at Simplot Stadium at 1 p.m. next Saturday. against Rocky Mountain College.
This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 7:19 PM.
