A truly mobile lineman

By Brent Hinckley

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008 | 6:34 p.m.

It has not been an ideal high school career for Spring Valley senior lineman Nate Holloway.

He’s attended four high schools, including three in the last year, and has found making friends a challenge.

“It’s been tough. My family’s just been trying to find a good place to live,” Holloway said. “I’m getting used to Las Vegas.”

He started high school at Franklin Pierce High in Tacoma, Wash., then his family moved to Salt Lake City after his sophomore season. He was looking forward to playing for Bingham High, the defending large-school classification champions.

“They were coming off state and were still rolling. The captains knew how to lead, it was looking to be a real good year,” Holloway said.

After playing just one game, the Holloway family moved again, this time to Las Vegas. He enrolled at Cheyenne and played for the Desert Shields for the rest of the 2007 season.

But he wasn’t done moving. In the middle of the school year, the family moved into Spring Valley’s zone.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but being on the football team helped me a lot,” he said.

Spring Valley coach Kelly Murphy said it hasn’t been easy for Holloway to be the new guy, but he’s worked hard to find his role.

“He’s accepted Spring Valley as his team. He’s become a leader in this program. He’s vocal and does the right things a leader should do,” Murphy said.

At 6 foot 3, 332 pounds, Holloway has recorded 15 tackles and four sacks in five games on defensive and is the anchor of the line offensively.

He’s starting to get attention from colleges and has received a scholarship offer from UNLV.

“I’ll make a few visits and stuff after the season. I’m focused on football and keeping my grades up right now,” Holloway said.

Spring Valley (6-1, 4-1 Southwest Division) has made the playoffs the last two years, but it has yet to win a postseason game.

While Holloway didn’t experience those losses, he wants to make sure the team has postseason success — in fact, he was part of Cheyenne’s team that beat Spring Valley last year.

“I know how important it is to these seniors to get past that first round. I can’t wait to make it happen this year,” Holloway said.

The Grizzlies have lost only once this year, a 14-6 setback to Bishop Gorman (7-1, 4-0) on Sept. 26. It’s a loss that still bothers Holloway.

“We played our hardest, but it wasn’t enough. We made some mistakes,” he said. “I think if we played them again we can get the win.”

One memory he won’t forget about this year was being voted team captain shortly before the season began.

“It really meant a lot, because I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got here,” Holloway said. “I was just working hard and they showed their confidence in me and I don’t want to let them down.”

Brent Hinckley can be reached at 990-7822 or brent.hinckley@hbcpub.com.