Tarig Holman kept things going at Aquinas, earns CJSR “Coach of the Year” honors

It’s easy to pick a Coach of the Year whose team won a championship. Whether they had high expectations and might have been a favorite, had a veteran ballclub, or just found that magic spark during the year.

But to us, it’s always been a matter of something the coach does, whether making an unorthodox change to the lineup, or overcoming a major hurdle during the season.

Tarig Holman faced an instant challenge upon being named the new football coach at St. Thomas Aquinas. He took over for Brian Meeney, who passed away suddenly of a heart attack last March, following his third season at the helm, and the program’s must successful under his tenure.

They had gone 9-1, with shutout wins in their first seven games, tying a playoff-era record held by the 2004 Piscataway Chiefs.

So, Holman already had to deal with that mourning, and the daunting task of – we won’t say replacing – taking the job of a highly popular coach, mentor and confidant.

Beyond that, he also kept the rest of the coaching staff together. And by the time the team hit they field, things picked up right where they left off. There was one out-of-conference loss to Timber Creek, but the Trojans ran the table in the Big Central, finishing with a 9-1 regular season record before falling in the first round on the playoffs, and they will go into 2023 with the longest winning streak in the league against BCC competition, by far, of 17 games.

For those efforts, Tarig Holman is Central Jersey Sports Radio’s 2022 Big Central Conference Coach of the Year.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Holman: