Kicker turned wide receiver helps Lexington Catholic rout Henry Clay
Lexington Catholic’s Max DeGraff can still hammer field goals like he did last year to win the Traditional Bank Bluegrass Bowl at the horn.
But at this season’s edition of the Knights’ home bowl event, DeGraff didn’t need to provide any last-second heroics because he and quarterback Jackson Wasik helped Lexington Catholic rout Henry Clay 48-6 with an astounding collection of pass plays early and often.
DeGraff made six catches for 275 yards and five touchdowns and notched Lexington Catholic’s first 29 points as the senior wide receiver/kicker caught scoring passes of 38, 60, 64 and 46 yards in the first half to go along with a booming 48-yard field goal and two extra points. He added a 36-yard TD catch and a 35-yard field goal in the second half.
“I’m not surprised, because I see him practice all the time,” LexCath Coach Bert Bathiany said. “But I am surprised that it actually happened. It’s just unbelievable.”
DeGraff and Wasik knew after looking at film of Henry Clay that opportunities could be available. They didn’t know how well they would be able to take advantage of them.
“I just caught fire, I think,” DeGraff said. “Wasik was throwing some great balls to me and we were just breaking the coverage.”
Wasik recognized the mismatch in the secondary and took advantage with devastating results.
“They just couldn’t handle Max, and Max had the hot hand, so I just decided to feed him and feed him and feed him,” Wasik said.
DeGraff’s family knew DeGraff had put himself in the record books as LexCath’s all-time career leader in made field goals (22). They didn’t know he’d be charting in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s football records. His five TDs in a game rank third and his 275 yards in a game tie him for 18th on the state’s all-time lists.
“He’s a weapon,” Bathiany said. “That’s all I can say. I saw it in spring with him being a shortstop and picking up ground balls. He’s just an athlete, and we’re trying to get balls in our best players’ hands.”
Meanwhile, Lexington Catholic’s defense held Henry Clay to 180 total yards, picked off three passes, including one in the end zone by Grant Gambrell, forced a safety to start the second half, forced two fumbles and ended seven Blue Devils’ possessions without letting them have a first down.
“Our defense flies around,” Bathiany said. “We get 11 hats to the ball. We attack the football. Our defensive coordinator has done a phenomenal job, our defensive staff has done a phenomenal job. … When we get there, there’s a collision.”
Henry Clay (1-1) played without last week’s starting quarterback, Blake VanHorn, who was in a medical boot on the Blue Devils’ sideline. Malcolm Paul got the start and scored Henry Clay’s touchdown in the second half.
Next, Lexington Catholic (2-0) hosts Covington Catholic (0-1), a Class 5A power that has lost two games in a row to the Knights but was ranked No. 4 in the Herald-Leader’s preseason poll. LexCath ranked No. 6 in Class 4A.
“Every single week, we know we’re going to play a good opponent,” Bathiany said. “Our biggest opponent is ourselves and we’re just trying to put the best product out on the field every single week. If we do that, we think we’ll win the game.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2022 at 5:14 AM.
