Holzer leaves MSJ for job at Northern
Harwood resident never had a losing season with Gaels
Rich Holzer poured his heart and soul into developing the Mount St. Joseph football program.
Having transformed the Gaels into a consistent contender in the powerful Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference, it was naturally tough to walk away.
However, family concerns come first and have caused Holzer to resign at Mount St. Joseph to become head coach at Northern High of Calvert County.
“It was a very difficult decision. I put a lot of time and effort into building up Mount St. Joseph football. I think the program had turned the corner and even better things were ahead,” Holzer said. “I really didn’t want to leave St. Joe, but my family has to come first.”
Holzer has two young sons — 8-year-old Luke and 5-year-old Rhett. His wife, Lauren, is vice president of a tech company located in Bethesda and therefore has a lengthy commute. The family resides in the Harwood area of southern Anne Arundel County.
Depending on traffic, Holzer’s daily, round-trip commute to and from the Baltimore campus ranges from two to three hours. Complicating matters further is the fact his in-laws, who have helped with watching the children, are moving from Annapolis to Wilmington, North Carolina.
“Our support network is dwindling, and my wife and I were starting to wonder how we were going to make this work,” said Holzer, who was also a candidate for the head coaching position at Crofton High, the county’s new high school set to open in the fall.
Northern-Calvert is located about 20 minutes from Harwood and working there full-time as a teacher and coach will make it easier for Holzer to get home when necessary.
Holzer departs Mount St. Joseph having compiled a 41-15 record over five seasons. He led the Gaels to the MIAA A Conference championship in 2019. It was the Catholic school’s first outright title in football since 1949.
“I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish. Mount St. Joseph is a traditional Catholic school that stays true to its values,” said Holzer, indicating the administration does not allow athletic scholarships. “As a coach, you have to work twice as hard to recruit. Our staff did a tremendous job of beating the bushes to find kids that really wanted to be at Mount St. Joseph.”
Mount St. Joseph never suffered a losing season under Holzer, and 47 products of the program went on to play college football at some level. The Gaels are sending 12 seniors to the collegiate ranks this year, including standout running back/middle linebacker Marlowe Wax (Syracuse).
In December, Holzer received the inaugural James Margraff Coaches Award, named in honor of the late Johns Hopkins head coach. Mount St. Joseph, which upset previously undefeated McDonogh in the MIAA A Conference championship game, finished the season in the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings.
Holzer said his entire coaching staff is remaining at Mount St. Joseph and recommended assistant Dom Damico as an ideal replacement. Damico spent 24 seasons as head coach at McDonogh, which he led to a 149-74 record and at least a share of eight MIAA A Conference crowns.
“I think Dom would be a great fit to lead the program,” Holzer said.
Holzer came to Mount St. Joseph after four successful seasons at Meade High, which went 33-13 with two region championships under his direction. He was previously head coach at Parkdale High in Prince George’s County and owns an 86-46 overall record.
At Northern-Calvert, Holzer succeeds Steve Crounse, who stepped down to become offensive coordinator at DeMatha Catholic. He has high hopes for the Patriots, who went 10-2 and advanced to the second round of the Class 3A playoffs in 2018.
“I think Northern is going to have similar kids in terms of personality and toughness,” Holzer said of the school located in Owings that competes in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference.
Northern-Calvert athletic director Stacy Karcesky announced the hiring of Holzer last Friday afternoon.
“We’re very excited to have coach Holzer take over the football program,” Karcesky said. “We had big shoes to fill with coach Crounse going to DeMatha, and it was a tough task with everything that is going on. We feel very fortunate to have found a proven coach in Rich Holzer.”
Holzer, 41, is a native of Pleansantville, New York and prepped at Archbishop Stepinac. He was an offensive lineman at Hofstra University and graduated in 2002.