

Kime, Holloway, Mackey voted Army team captains

OL Momo Kime.John Meore/ForTimes Herald-Record

Times Herald-Record

Momo Kime watched film with tackles coach Todd Spencer in his office on Sunday afternoon.

Kime and Spencer were going over the offensive line's plan for this week as Army's season opener against Morgan State on Aug. 30 grows closer.

Coach Rich Ellerson walked in and interrupted the preparations.

"I would just like to shake the offensive captain's hand," Ellerson told Kime before leaving.

"I was in shock," said Kime, a senior. "I had no idea. We just voted that morning. I had no idea he tallied up the votes already. Coach Spencer was ecstatic and I couldn't have been happier to have him there when I found out the news because coach Spencer has been a huge mentor to me this year."

Kime, senior rover Thomas Holloway and senior linebacker Jarrett Mackey — for special teams — were recognized by their teammates as captains for the upcoming season.

Kime's selection makes a little bit of Army history. He and his father, Bill, are believed to be the first father-and-son Army captains. Bill, also a tackle, was part of an entire senior class that was named captains in 1984.

"I know it means a lot to my father and his older grad friends, but really and truly for me it's something really special," said Kime, who is 6-feet tall and weighs 250 pounds. "It's a testament to the guys that they really believe in me."

Kime needed to believe in himself first. He's back on the field after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and partially tearing his medial collateral ligament in late November.

"It was a full-blown reconstruction," Bill Kime said. "You see the kid battle back from injuries. You see the kid work. I'm just extremely proud of him. For a kid who is probably the smallest Division I tackle, that's quite an honor. I would love for Momo to have the senior year that I had."

Bill Kime and Army won the 1984 Cherry Bowl.

Holloway follows in the footsteps of current Indianapolis Colts linebacker Josh McNary as a walk-on who was named captain in his senior year. He was Army's second-leading tackler as a sophomore and saw limited action as a junior.

"I don't think anyone personifies what it means to be an Army football player more than Tom Holloway," Kime said. "It's a true testament to the absolute warrior mentality that he has. He was a walk-on. He wasn't even a recruit and now he's the captain of the defense. He's just really been a positive role model for us."

Mackey is Army's first two-year captain since Steve Anderson (2009-10). He was voted as the "legacy" captain by the 2011 seniors.;

Twitter: @salinterdonato

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