Sights Set on NFL

I remember this clearly. He turned and said with that dad voice: “I think you should give it a try.” Flash forward to 2020.

My career: I’m a Radio-pharmacy chemist at the Positron Emission Tomography Center, at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. My discipline is a combination of particle physics and chemistry.

Apparently, Mr. Williams knew Jay Brown better than Jay Brown knew Jay Brown.

LAKER BUDDIES

By: Mac Kennedy ‘76

The Boys’ Latin School’s Laker Buddy program is special. For years, upperclassmen have volunteered their time during the school day to help lower school faculty teach and mentor lower school students. Each upperclassman in the program is given a lower school student to be his “Laker Buddy.”

One relationship has really blossomed beyond Lake Avenue – the one between BL basketball star Jaylin Andrews ’18 and Max Woelper ’25. Max was in the second grade when he first met Jaylin.

Jaylin Andrews now plays for the Loyola University Maryland men’s basketball team. But before taking his talents down Charles Street to Loyola, he was a four-year starter for Coach Cliff Rees here at BL. Jaylin is also BL’s alltime leading scorer accumulating 1,613 points, breaking the School record that had lasted for over 40 years.

The friendship between Jaylin and Max continues. Max and his family started watching Jaylin play games here at BL, and now they attend many games at Reitz Arena where Loyola plays its home games.

Max’s dad Kip recently wrote: “I think the relationship just grew from watching him play at BL and Loyola. He still has the headband and the note Jaylin sent him after his senior year at Boys’ Latin. We try to make all the Loyola home games and he usually gets a quick hug with Jaylin after every game and they usually text and Instagram message each other after the games as well. And [Jaylin recently] texted me [writing] ‘thanks for letting [me] be a part of Max’s life.’ It’s [my] honor and happiness that we connected.”

Jaylin is having a fabulous career so far at Loyola. As a sophomore, he is now part of the playing rotation. Last year, he was named to the Patriot League All-Rookie Team after averaging nearly seven points per game while playing in 30 games and starting the final 16.

Jaylin and Max plan on remaining close friends, and I am sure they will.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

By Mac Kennedy ’76

Middle school art teacher Kirk Maggio has always been good with his hands. He is a painter by trade, and some of his beautiful works can be seen on BL’s campus. Kirk paints portraits of many professional football players and golfers, and some of this work hangs in M&T Bank Stadium in downtown Baltimore. But Kirk is also good with his feet. And his son Dom, a member of the Class of 2016, has followed in his footsteps.

Kirk was the quarterback and kicker for the Calvert Hall Cardinals in high school in the early 1980s but was recruited to play college football as a punter. He chose to attend UCLA and eventually became an All-American punter for the Bruins.

Kirk’s dream was to punt in the NFL. He was drafted in the 12th-round by the Green Bay Packers and had another chance with the New Orleans Saints, but he didn’t make either team. He later spent some time with the Birmingham Fire in the World League and was voted second-team All-League two straight years, but eventually he decided to stop playing football and pursue his other passion, painting.

Dom was a three-sport standout here at BL, with football and baseball as his top sports. Dom kicked and punted for Ritchie Schell’s football squads and was also a backup quarterback. Kirk, for a few years, was on Coach Schell’s staff.

Former Laker offensive coordinator Jim Sandusky H’17 always raved about Dom’s quarterback skills. He recently said, “Dom could have been an All-Conference quarterback and was one of the best all-around athletes I’ve ever coached.” In addition, Coach Sandusky said, “More importantly, Dom is a top-shelf person.”

Dom was named an Under Armour High School AllAmerican punter his senior year – the first and only student from BL to be so honored – and continued his kicking career at Wake Forest University. In fact, according to the Baltimore Sun, he was recruited by the same assistant coach who recruited Kirk to UCLA in the mid-1980s.

Dom also has dreams of playing in the NFL, and he always acknowledges the support his family – especially his dad – gives him. He recently told the Wake Forest Kickoff Magazine, “Since I began playing football when I was 10, [my dad] had been the one to teach me all the tricks of the trade. I had fun with it and was blessed with his type of ability, and he’s taught me all the way up. He’s been instrumental in all the success that I’ve had.”

Kirk continues to be Dom’s biggest fan and has been keeping a close eye on his pro football opportunities. This past spring Dom was signed by the Baltimore Ravens, but unfortunately, COVID-19 interrupted all NFL camps and no preseason games were played. It was during the preseason games where Dom had hoped to show-off his talents to the Ravens and the rest of the entire league.

The Ravens felt it best to release Dom just prior to the shortened 2020 training camp. In the meantime, Dom continues to perfect his craft and hopes when the next NFL opportunity come his way, he will be ready.