Henry Clay football looks to ‘finish’ the job in 2022 – WKYT

July 25, 2022 News Editor

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Henry Clay football has struggled over the past three seasons and that is being kind. The Blue Devils have won only three games but with every season there is a hope for a turnaround campaign.

A high school football game lasts 48 minutes but Henry Clay often fell short of playing the full 48 last season. The result was a 1-10 record.

“Last year we had a lot of games where we were up one at half time and you know we had a lot of games that we only played one half, “says Blue Devils’ QB Blake Van Horn. “If we would’ve just kept our foot on the pedal, we probably would’ve gone 6-6 last year, or 6-5.”

“You go back and look at some of the scores. We were in a lot of the games, we just could not put two halves together, “says 2nd year coach Demetrious Gay. “If we were able to put two halves together, quite a few of those games we could have won.”

That’s why finishing has been a big emphasis this preseason for the Blue Devils. Another emphasis is taking responsibility for one’s actions.

“This year we put a lot of emphasis on ‘we not me’,” believes Van Horn. “Last year we had a lot of I did this, this is your fault and this year we’re putting a lot of emphasis on being a thumb-puller instead of a finger-pointer.”

Quarterback Blake Van Horn returns to the lead the offense and one positive to come from last year’s inexperience is almost everyone is back.

“Where we got a lot of offensive guys back. We return a lot of guys on the offensive side,” says Gay. “We’ve got to replace some guys on the defensive side but, offensively, we’re strong on that side of the ball.”

Winning games are never easy but the first step to achieving that goal is simple says Gay.

“Just compete every single play every single day. We just want to compete and win every down. That’s what we’re shooting for.”