Monroe City’s DeGrave on right track to return as electrifying playmaker after knee injury

MONROE CITY, Mo. — The speed is not quite what it used to be and cutting through an open hole is not as crisp as he would like, but Waylon DeGrave is confident it’s only a matter of time before the work he has put in the last nine months to rehabilitate his right knee pays off.

“A lot of good people are getting me back to where I want to be,” he said. “I’m close to getting ready to play. That’s the goal. There are just some small things that need to be cleaned up before I’m 100 percent. I’ll definitely get there during the season.”

That likelihood for one of the most electrifying players in Northeast Missouri the past two seasons could cause headaches for Monroe City’s opponents this fall.

DeGrave had more than 1,000 receiving yards as a sophomore to earn first-team all-state honors and help Monroe City reach the Class 1 state semifinals.

Moved to running back as a junior, DeGrave accounted for 26 touchdowns and 2,015 yards of total offense as the Panthers once again were among the final four teams. He was voted second-team all-state as both a back and kick returner.

The lightning to fullback Ceaton Pennewell’s thunder in an offense that averaged 44.1 points per game in 2022, DeGrave rushed for 1,445 yards and 18 scores. Half of his 12 receptions went for touchdowns, and he also returned two kicks for scores.

“He’s our Swiss Army knife,” Monroe City coach David Kirby said, referring to DeGrave’s versatility. “We have a lot of different ways to get him touches and create stress on defenses.”

That was the impetus for the position change.

“Coach was pretty straightforward about it,” DeGrave said. “He told me I would get the ball a lot more as a back than as a wide receiver, and that sounded pretty good to me. I’ll do anything to help the team.”

Help he did.

Against previously undefeated Macon the eighth week of the season, he sprinted 63 yards for a score on the third play from scrimmage to propel Monroe City to an early lead en route to a 32-8 victory that clinched at least a share of the Clarence Cannon Conference title, which it won outright the following week. He closed the scoring with a 51-yard scamper that gave him 184 rushing yards for the game.

Against South Shelby in the district championship game, DeGrave raced 67 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to set the tone in a 52-18 victory. He tacked on three more scores as part of a 222-yard rushing effort on just 13 carries.

He returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown to give Monroe City a lead it would never relinquish against Lincoln in the state quarterfinals. But his season abruptly ended in the second quarter of that game when he went down with a serious knee injury.

Without him in the lineup the following week, the Panthers fell to Adrian, their only loss in 14 games.

“It was definitely one of the hardest things in my life,” DeGrave said of watching his team lose in the semifinals from the sideline. “To put in all the hard work with my teammates and then not being able to be out there to help them hurt a lot.”

The hurt continued after surgery Dec. 8 to repair his ACL, MCL and meniscus. He couldn’t walk until early January and wasn’t cleared to begin running until April.

He missed the basketball and track seasons — he was part of the school’s record-setting 4×100 relay team as a sophomore — and was wearing a black brace to help protect his knee when football camp opened.

“It was hard physically and mentally,” DeGrave said of his lengthy rehab. “Once (the injury) happened, I knew something was pretty messed up. It’s all in God’s hands from here. He has plans for me. Whatever it is, I’ll roll with it.”

Despite the injury, Kirby calls DeGrave “a special athlete” and expects big things from the 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior who already has committed to Lindenwood University in St. Charles, which joined the Ohio Valley Conference and made the move to NCAA Division I last season.

“He’s an extremely hard worker and he’s extremely competitive in a good way,” Kirby said. “He likes to test himself against other top-level talent. His dad (Tony DeGrave) was the coach at Monroe before me, so he has grown up around the game. He has studied the game more than any kid I have ever coached. He has a high football IQ.

“He’s a humble kid as well. He does a great job of being a leader by example and by being positive toward teammates. It’s never about him. He wants the team to be successful.”

Monroe City has enjoyed considerable success since finishing 3-8 in 2015. The Panthers have won 75 of their last 91 games and reached the state title game twice, winning in 2017.

Getting back to full strength and making a run at Monroe City’s fourth state championship would be a fitting final chapter to DeGrave’s high school career before he next suits up with Lindenwood, which stuck with him when other schools grew wary after the knee injury.

“There’s a lot of young guys who got a lot of playing time last year,” DeGrave said. “We’re in a good position to win a lot of games this year. We always try to go out there and play our game, the way we’re taught, and most times things take care of themselves when we do.”