Lexington Catholic rolls over Waggener in first round of 3A football playoffs

It took Lexington Catholic just 36 seconds to score its first touchdown in Friday night’s class 3A playoff opener against visiting Waggener.

The Knights didn’t let up from there.

LexCath scored touchdowns on all six of its possessions in the first half — none of them lasting more than 78 seconds — and romped over the Wildcats, 55-22.

Freshman quarterback Beau Allen got most of the early reps for the Knights, but it was senior QB Kirk Fagot who put them on the scoreboard first.

On LexCath’s third offensive play of the game, Fagot rolled to his left, turned upfield and nailed a wide open Sam Hodges down the left sideline for a 65-yard score.

Waggener went three and out on its next possession, and LexCath junior Dameon Jones made it 14-0 with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Another Waggener three and out followed, and another quick strike by the Knights followed that.

Allen’s 3-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Gavin Cameron gave Catholic a 21-0 lead with 11:39 still left in the first half.

“It was really important to come out and play well in the first half,” Knights Coach Mark Perry said. “They’re a dangerous football team. They have several Division I (college) players. It was important for us to jump out early and control the ball game. … It was a good night.”

The Wildcats finally scored on their fourth possession — thanks in large part to a 57-yard pass from Larry Harper to Manny Harper to set up the TD — but that was the lone bright spot of the first half for Waggener.

Lexington Catholic scored touchdowns on its next three possessions — none of which lasted more than 48 seconds — and led 42-6 at halftime.

Allen was 7-for-10 passing for 188 yards and no interceptions in the first half.

“He’s a super talented kid, and he came in and made some big plays tonight,” Perry said. “Being a freshman, he’s learning each and every week. And the more experience he gets, the better he gets.”

Allen was officially credited with four touchdown passes — two to Cameron, one to Jones and one on a crazy play early in the second quarter.

On that play, Allen hit Hodges on a wide receiver screen, and the senior sprinted toward the end zone for what looked like it would be a 61-yard touchdown. Instead, Hodges was run down from behind by Waggener star cornerback Jairus Brents, who stripped the ball at the Wildcats 2, only to have Hodges fall on his own fumble in the end zone for a Lexington Catholic touchdown.

For Brents — the top-rated junior in the state and a nationally recruited player — it was a rare opportunity to make a play Friday night. The Knights didn’t throw his direction very often. Brents, who is expected to visit UK for Saturday night’s game against Georgia, had eight tackles in his final game of the season.

Senior Kyle McMillin and sophomore Luke Powell handled the quarterback duties for the Knights in the second half.

Sophomores Jared Turpin and Tommy Knopp added defensive touchdowns in the second half for Catholic. Senior Austin Pedroche had a team-high 7.5 tackles — all in the first half — and senior Sid Sharp added 1.5 sacks in the first half.

Waggener led time of position 19:01 to 4:59 in the first half, but the Wildcats had only six first downs during that time. The Wildcats got two second-half touchdown runs from Brandon Jones (19 carries for 177 yards and 3 TDs total), but both of those came after Catholic had taken a 49-6 lead.

The Knights, who have home-field advantage through the 3A semifinals, will host Bardstown in the second round of the playoffs next Friday night.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Lexington Catholic rolls over Waggener in first round of 3A football playoffs."