Former Wildcat Tucker Holloway playing well through first two games at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee
When Tucker Holloway stepped onto the football field in Rabun Gap’s opener against Christ School, all the stress and anxiety of the past few months washed away onto the field.
“You could just feel it in the air, just the fact that we got to be back on the field, I’m so thankful,” Holloway said of his emotions when he stepped onto the field for the first time “At the end of that day I was like just, ‘Man, I got to play football today,’ going out there it was really surreal, just being on the field and being able to play.”
And Holloway came to play, coming up huge for the Eagles in his Rabun Gap debut, grabbing two key catches on their game-winning drive, including a 34-yard catch and run that ended at the nine-yard line with less than a minute on the clock.
The former Andrews High School quarterback would also snag the game-sealing interception on the following drive, putting the icing on the cake of his first game at Rabun Gap.
“It was such a nice end to that game, with so much on the line,” Holloway said of his key plays at the end of Rabun Gap’s 24-21 comeback victory. “All the hard work that went into that paid off at the end there. I struggled in the first half a little bit, but to seal the game with that interception was just so awesome. The one thing I told my dad was, when that play was over and the game ended, that was the first time I’m seeing all my hard work and everything that I’ve gone through just to be where I’m at.”
With another week of practice with his quarterback under his belt ahead of the Eagles’ second game of the season, Holloway said that he felt way more comfortable heading into Rabun Gaps’ second game.
“Last week I felt very comfortable,” Holloway said. “That Christ School game I was still figuring out my role, when I could make big plays and when coach would use me.”
Rabun Gap would end up easily defeating Metrolina Christian Academy by a score of 40-8, with Holloway catching his first touchdown of the season for the Eagles in the opening half.
“I only played one series after the first half, but going into that game I realistically felt like I could’ve scored four or five touchdowns that game,” Holloway said of his attitude going into the Eagles’ second game. “I felt like that whole week of practice coach really started using me more and going into the game I was very confident.”
With a 2-0 start to the season behind him and plenty of room for both he and the team to improve, Holloway said it has been nice to have football games at the end of the week to look forward to again.
“It’s been great, I mean we’re 2-0 right now,” Holloway said of the start to his season at Rabun Gap. “That first game against Christ School was the biggest game I’ve played in a while. There have been so many challenges, and it’s been stretching me and pushing me in so many ways, but now that games are here I finally have something to look forward to at the end of every week.”
Holloway added that his reclassification into the 2022 class has taken some of the pressure away this season, as he knows he has two more years to prove he can play the wide receiver position at the collegiate level.
“It’s just cool that first of all, I get to play football this year,” Holloway said of this season. “And then on top of that, I can play this year and honestly like there’s no pressure. I mean there’s pressure because I put pressure on myself because of all the work I’ve put in. But other than that it’s kind of like, I get to go just play football because I’ve got this year and I’ve got next year. It’s just kind of like, ‘OK, I’m going out there and as many times as they use me, I’m thankful.’ If I catch one ball a game or 10, it’s not really like completely make-it-or-break-it.”