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Holt upholds family tradition

By NANCY MORGAN
Published October 22, 2006

Though Jon Holt didn't play organized football until his freshman year at Clearwater High, it was inevitable the second oldest of four brothers would take to the game.

This season marks his fourth at North Carolina State where he has excelled on the offensive line.

Starting with his dad, who played at Furman, the offensive line has been the position of choice for the Holt males.

"I was always too big to play youth football growing up, and played a lot of other sports instead," said Holt, 22. "My parents had us playing everything, and I especially played basketball and tennis.

"I waited until my first year at Clearwater to play football, and then I wasn't the biggest until my junior year when I had most weight gain. It was natural for me to be on the offensive line."

As the Wolfpack's starting right tackle, Holt prides himself in protecting the quarterback and helping the offense gain as many rushing yards as possible.

Holt and his teammates have allowed just seven sacks in six games, which puts the team tied for third with Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference. A 131.5 yards rushing average per game places N.C. State No. 6 in the ACC.

This year, a trip to the Orange Bowl is high on Holt's mind.

"It would be nice to receive any accolades from the ACC, but most important for us as a team is to win the rest of the season and win the ACC," said Holt. "That would be a great way to reward the team. We had two good wins over No. 17 FSU and No. 20 Boston College and that gives us momentum. Hopefully, we can keep it up."

MORE FOOTBALL: N.C. State receiver Donald Bowens (St. Petersburg) had three catches for 27 yards against Wake Forest. The freshman is averaging 26 yards per game. Linebacker LeRue Rumph (Clearwater Central Catholic) collected eight tackles for the Wolfpack against Wake Forest to raise his total to 22 in six games. Tight end Ted Larsen (Palm Harbor U.) added a tackle against Wake Forest to total five on the season.

- Pikeville's Kyle Chilton (Clearwater) was named Special Teams Player of the Week by the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference after connecting on 50-yard field goal, then a 34-yarder in overtime against Cumberland. The freshman is the first Bear to be honored by the NAIA since 2004.

VOLLEYBALL: Chelsea Lazar (East Lake) followed up her four blocks for Marshall in its win over Central Florida with four against Southern Mississippi. Against Alabama, the junior middle blocker posted a .391 hitting percentage.

BASEBALL: Ian Church (Osceola/Stetson) was named independent baseball's Frontier League MVP after leading the league in home runs (31), extra-base hits (70), hits (120) and runs scored (77).

DIVING: Junior diver Alex Tilbrook (Largo) was second in the 3-meter board competition for Florida State in its win over Clemson.

SWIMMING: Sophomore Daniela Brands (St. Petersburg Catholic) swam the 200 freestyle for national defending champion Auburn in its win over LSU this month.

SOCCER: Junior forward Kari Weniger (Clearwater Central Catholic) has collected five assists and 17 points on six goals for Soccer America's top-20 Navy.

- Ivy League Rookie of the Week went to freshman Meggie Ford (St. Petersburg) after the defender led the back line to three consecutive shutout wins for Columbia.

[Last modified October 22, 2006, 07:43:02]