Thirty years ago, Seneca Holmes played football at Creek as a wide receiver and kick returner, eventually becoming a state champion.
Now, he’s back to his roots at Creek teaching health to students.
Holmes fell in love with football at a young age and played through his childhood and into high school. It was during these early years that Holmes and Marcus McDavid met. The pair knew each other while growing up, after meeting when they were both around 9 years old at church. When they played together, they were a part of the 47-6 1994 5A Championship win against Horizon.
“I dreamed of playing [in] a major college, and everybody dreams of being in the NFL when they’re younger,” Holmes said.
Holmes went on to play college football at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Despite playing DII football, Holmes kept his eye set on being the best he could.
In Durango, he was named part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) All-Conference team in 1996, As a WR and a KR He was also a finalist for the regional Harlon Hill Award, commonly known as the ‘Heisman Trophy of D2 football’ that same year.
Holmes soon transferred to Northwest Missouri State University in 1997, winning two D2 National Championships in 1998 and 1999. In the spring of 2000, he graduated from college without any offers for the NFL draft.
“When we got done with college, we wanted to keep training to try to keep playing football,” McDavid, who ended up as a cornerback at the University of New Mexico, said. “[Holmes’ dad] kind of turned into our personal trainer and he would give us workouts to do all the time. He came up with cool, or really hard workouts to do.”
Holmes was signed by the B.C. (British Columbia) Lions on August 14, 2001, after being released by the Calgary Stampeders in June.
“That experience I had playing in the CFL, flying to games, and getting money that they give you when you’re traveling. Getting paid for playing and having fans signing autographs,” Holmes said. “Seeing your jersey getting sold and those kinds of things … those are dreams that you have as a kid and I had when I was growing up.”
Holmes kept in touch with McDavid, who had also played in the CFL in 2000 for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a cornerback.
After Holmes’ release from the Lions, he was signed by the San Diego Riptide in the Arena Football League, and finished his career in football in 2004.
“There’s a genuine respect we have for each other because we both know how hard we had to work to get that opportunity to play professional football in Canada,” Holmes said.
After the end of his football career, Holmes landed a job as a JV football coach and Varsity wide receiver coach at Creek with McDavid. The duo both worked alongside Principal Ryan Silva, who was a JV head coach and Spanish teacher at the time.
“Hanging out with those guys and getting to coach with them was fun,” Holmes said.
Silva recognized his talent in coaching football. “He was always enthusiastic, [and] passionate. He connected well with the players. He took a lot of pride in what he does because coaching is [an] important role,” Silva said.
After receiving his K-12 Physical Education degree in 2005 from Metro State University, Holmes jumped around a few schools in the district, coaching various sports.
This year, Holmes is reunited with McDavid and Silva. He’s known at Creek as the beloved health teacher to students who brings a piece of his past to his students each year.
“I believe this is my purpose. And I think that’s why football didn’t work out, that’s my mentality. And that’s what I truly believe,” Holmes said.
