From Florida to Buffalo County: Harvey looks to lead adoptive hometown to title

KEARNEY, Neb. -- Rashawn Harvey never envisioned being a staple of central Nebraska.

Harvey spent his high school days playing high school football in Stuart, Florida. By the end of his senior season, he was still unsure what his college plans were.

But that all changed during a playoff game.

“In the middle of the game, an official asked me where am I going to school," Harvey said. "I told him I don’t know. He asked me, “Do you parents mind if you go out of state?” I said, “Nope, they don’t care.”

Less than a week later, Harvey received a letter from Darrell Morris, who was then an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. "He said, 'A friend of mine was an official, saw you playing in a game, and he said I should reach out to you,'" Harvey said.

And that was enough to draw him to central Nebraska, without ever making a trip to campus beforehand.

“At that time, you were only allowed three paid trips," Harvey said. "I had used them up already. Being 17 years old, I said ‘I’m not paying to go up there,' so I ended up here sight unseen."

After his career at UNK, Harvey remained in Kearney. He student taught at Kearney Catholic and worked in the financial industry before landing his current job working with at-risk students at UNK, all while serving as a coach with the Kearney Catholic football program.

“I get to work with students at two different levels," Harvey said. "I can kind of influence students at the high school level. I can talk to them about the experience of getting ready for college.”

And while football remains the same, regardless of location, there were changes that Harvey needed to adjust to when he started coaching at the small Class C-1 school -- like a lack of spring football.

"Football was everything where I grew up," Harvey said. "Here, you had young men playing three and four sports. At a smaller C-1 school, you’re just involved in so many things compared to a bigger school in Florida."

And it’s a school that Harvey hopes to lead to its first state championship this season.

"We know Kearney Catholic has never won a state championship," Harvey said. "To be able to make that jump to finally crest and get to the top, it would be special, not just for us, not just for the coaches, but for the school and the program."

Watch Kearney Catholic and Columbus Lakeview square off in the Class C-1 State Semifinals on News Channel Nebraska.