Brothers Tarig Holman (left, of St. Thomas Aquinas) and Austin Holman (of Scotch Plains-Fanwood) will face each other as head coaches a fourth time this Friday night when the Raiders and Trojans square off in North Edison. (submitted photo)
It happens occasionally, but not that often: siblings coaching high school football in the same state.
But what about in the same conference, same division?
That’s what’s happened the last few years in the Big Central with Tarig and Austin Holman.
Austin, the younger of the two, has been the head coach of Scotch Plains-Fanwood since 2019. Tarig Holman came back to the Middlesex County to lead JFK in 2020, and baby brother got the best of the elder Holman two years in a row: 40-2 that first season, and 41-20 in 2021.
Last year, Tarig took the head coaching job at St. Thomas Aquinas, following the sudden death of Brian Meeney, who led the Trojans in 2021 to a 9-1 season with seven shutouts, matching a modern Middlesex County record.
And he might have gotten away from Austin except for the Big Central Conference’s new divisional alignments, which put Scotch Plains in with Aquinas in the United Gold.
Tarig’s Aquinas club got the better of the Raiders last season, 43-0. They meet again this week, Friday night at 7 pm, with Tarig looking to even the score at two apiece, or Austin looking to take a commanding three-games-to-one lead.
The two haven’t always been at different schools, or on opposing sidelines. They were at New Brunswick together under John Quinn in the mid-2000s, when the Zebras had one of the most successful multi-year runs in school history.
The Holman brothers talked about their family bond – and rivalry – at Big Central Media Days last month. Click below to hear comments from Austin, then Tarig Holman: