The football season at Palm Beach County high schools is picking up speed
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Lincoln Graf has an arsenal. But if you ask about those weapons, they will most likely say they are lucky to have Lincoln Graf.
Atlantic’s quarterback is entering his fourth year as a starter with the Eagles, and yet it feels like he’s been around longer.
That’s because it would be difficult to find a playmaker – no, any player – in Palm Beach County who exudes the calm and composed presence of a veteran like Graf.
“Lincoln is pretty much an on-field coach for us now because he’s been in the program so long and has been on the field so long,” Atlantic head coach Jamelle Murray said.
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Being at the top of the stats list is nothing new for Lincoln.
Since joining Atlantic as a freshman starting quarterback in 2021, he has rushed for 5,700 yards through the air, including 1,995 last year, and scored 16 passing touchdowns.
While leading Atlantic to a 9-2 record, Graf even found ways to make his presence felt in the running game with an additional 184 yards and seven touchdowns, proof that this young man continues to find new ways to develop and impress, even if colleges haven’t quite caught up yet.
Bethune-Cookman made him his first offer, but if he continues to make progress in his final year, expect more offers to come.
Right now, the focus is on bringing the trophy back to Delray Beach with the goal of winning a state title – and Murray just wants his quarterback to enjoy the moment.
“I just want him to have the year he wants to have,” Murray said. “I just want to see Lincoln continue to do what Lincoln does, continue to be great and have the season that he thinks he should have.”
Graf himself expects an explosive product on the field given the new talent and the team’s fresh attitude.
“As far as the team goes, especially the offense, 35 points should be our goal every game,” Graf said. “Especially the way our defense has been practicing and playing, we should be able to get the ball often enough to accomplish that. With the guys we have, we should be able to score points.”
And then, of course, he gave us the decisive goal.
“I know it sounds crazy, but it would be one of the craziest feats ever if we could go the whole season without stopping,” Graf said. “That would be fantastic. And for me personally, over 3,000 and 35 touchdowns would be cool, but I’m not too worried about that.”
That’s because with an offense like this, points come from a variety of sources, and a four-star running back losing some of his production on the stat sheet isn’t going to disappoint anyone as long as it results in wins.
Last year, Atlantic’s defense was arguably the most experienced and consistent. This year, the Eagles seem to be reversing that trend.
And as Graf said, he doesn’t expect scoring goals to be a problem.
“We should have a balanced attack and still put up some insane numbers.”
Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
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