No. 23 Lexington Christian Academy sophomore Nash Whelan did most of his damage on the ground Friday night in his own school’s stadium, but he’ll be remembered for the pair of last-minute passes he floated perfectly into the hands of his wide receivers.
With the KSR Game of the Week against the crosstown rival No. 22 Lexington Catholic Knights tied at 21 and less than a minute to go, LCA looked to be hunting for a game-winning field goal. But Whelan wanted more, hitting senior Jeremiah Burbage down the sideline for a game-altering, 45-yard catch with just 26 seconds on the clock. Whelan got even greedier from there, finding Tyler King for the go-ahead, 22-yard touchdown, putting the Eagles ahead 28-21 with little time left for Lexington Catholic to strike back.
There would be no miracle in this year’s Holy War — LCA held on to win the annual rivalry showdown by the same score.
Whelan, who entered the season as the Eagles’ backup quarterback before filling in as the starter, finished with 91 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns. But his lone touchdown through the air is the one that pushed his team across the finish line and the student section onto the field.
“One of the toughest players I’ve ever coached,” LCA’s first-year head coach, Oakley Watkins, said of Whelan postgame. “He just continues to battle for us. Plays defense, too. That’s one thing a lot of people don’t think, is Nash plays almost every rep on defense for us. And for him to do that, and step up in the way he did tonight, just says all you need to know about him. And he’s only a sophomore.”
As his coach mentioned, Whelan also added five tackles on defense to cap off an incredible overall performance.
The game didn’t start the way it ended for LCA, though. Lexington Catholic struck first and second. Senior quarterback Brady Wasik opened up the night with a 25-yard strike to Duncan Guance midway through the first quarter to make it 7-0. A fumble from the Eagles on the next possession gave the ball back to LexCath, which led to another Wasik touchdown pass, this one a seven-yarder to Mark Hosinski.
Despite a missed extra point, the Knights took a commanding 13-0 lead before the first quarter clock could run out. But Whelan was able to keep LCA from going scoreless in the opening period, running in the first of his three rushing scores with just a couple of ticks until the second quarter. With three turnovers and a missed field goal between the two sides, the score would remain at 13-7 all the way through halftime.
It wasn’t until the third quarter clock was nearly exhausted that Whelan added his second rushing touchdown, this one a 16-yard trot into the end zone coming soon after Wasik lobbed an interception for the Knights. The made extra point put LCA ahead 14-13 going into the fourth and final period. But LexCath responded with a lengthy, five-minute drive that resulted in a 34-yard touchdown run from junior Jack Wedding. Wasik picked himself back up by converting the two-pointer, putting the Knights back in front 21-14.
But this is when Whelan hit his stride. A long kickoff return from LCA put him in great position to find the end zone. He did just that thanks to a two-yard rushing touchdown that made it 21-21 with 4:20 left in regulation. Talks of a Holy War overtime battle were now being discussed on the sidelines. But Whelan wasn’t hearing it. The Eagles would get the ball back with enough time for him to toss two perfect balls en route to the game-winning touchdown.
“We drew up the play in the huddle,” Whelan said of the final touchdown call. “I know TK (Tyler King) is a great player. I knew he was down there somewhere. So when I threw it, I let him go get it.”
With the win, LCA improves to 2-3 on the season, a misleading record for a team that has faced several ranked opponents already. Meanwhile, Lexington Catholic drops to 3-2, but the Knights have proven halfway through the season that they are a team to fear in Class 3A.
Top 25 matchups don’t get much better than what happened Friday night under the lights in Lexington. Another classic KSR Game of the Week is in the books.