LEXINGTON ― Outside of burning a timeout before they snapped the ball on the first play from scrimmage, things couldn’t have gone much better for the Lexington Minutemen in Friday night’s football game.
Fortunately, that early confusion didn’t set the tone for Lex.
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What happened next did.
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Quarterback Joe Caudill ripped off a 50-yard gain on the first “official” play, and two snaps later found senior Avery Crawford in the left corner of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown.
By halftime, Caudill had thrown for two more scores to different receivers and Lex was well on its way to a 44-20 blowout of previously red-hot New Philadelphia on Oct. 10.
It was another statement win for the Minutemen (7-1, 4-0 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference), the statement being that their fans have every right to believe that the OCC is running through Lexington in 2025.
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With two weeks left in the regular season, everything points to an undisputed league championship being at stake when Lex hosts unbeaten Ashland on Oct. 24. In next week’s preliminary to what promises to be an epic showdown, Lex travels to 2-6 Madison while Ashland hosts winless Wooster.
“The message all week is that we had never beaten (New Philly),” said Caudill, who finished with four touchdown passes, all to different receivers. “(The previous three times) had always been close games, always been tough. But we have never got ‘em. It was nice to get ‘em, here at home.”
Crawford, Brayden Fogle (23 yards), Cohen Boozer (23 yards) and Seven Allen (22 yards), all senior wideouts, all had scoring receptions as Lex hung more than 40 points on their sixth straight opponent.
Clearing two major OCC hurdles these last two weeks in West Holmes and New Philly, in such dominating fashion, was somewhat surprising. Before losing to Lex 41-7, West Holmes had won five straight games and outscored their previous three foes 119-12. New Philadelphia (4-4, 3-2) came in having won three in a row and four of five, a span in which it scored over 40 points three times.
Lexington’s Joe Caudill ecscapes the tackle of Jaxson Rice Friday night.
But neither league rival came close to matching Lex’s firepower.
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“It just shows our preparation during the week,” Caudill said. “We’re not going to take anyone lightly. They’re (New Philly) a very good football team, but we showed up this week ready to work, and it showed up tonight.”
It hasn’t been all offense, offense, offense with Lex. Complementary football has been a big key to its success. Since starting this six-game winning streak in a shootout with Clear Fork, the Minutemen have only given up 47 points in their last five games.
A huge turning point Friday night came after the Quakers cut Lex’s lead to 21-7 on a 5-yard run by Kolston Fox. Suddenly, momentum showed signs of shifting.
New Philly had a chance to make it a one score game going into halftime, but quarterback Parker Rieger got drilled and fumbled the ball. Senior linebacker Cole Eichorn was there to recover for Lex at the NP 23.
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On the first play after that takeaway, Caudill hit Boozer for a touchdown to make it 28-7 at the half.
“It felt awesome,” Eichorn said of his fumble recovery. “I love playing with my team. I was coming off the edge, the quarterback got hit and lost the ball, and I picked it up. It was destiny from there … hopefully.”
Crawford made a tackle in the end zone for a third quarter safety to pad Lex’s lead to 30-7. That two-point play and a pair of touchdowns in the second half by Allen ― one on the ground, one through the air ― kept New Philly from mounting a serious rally.
New Philadelphia’s Myles Tyson is sandwiched by a pair of Minutemen defenders.
And the defense obviously did its part. For most of the game it looked like the Quakers would be the fifth straight opponent to score 14 or fewer points.
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“Coach (Jamie) Masi (defensive coordinator) does a great job of giving us the scheme every week and we come to work every day,” Eichorn said. “Monday through Thursday we hit hard and then Friday, it’s game day. We’re a bend but don’t break type of defense. We may give up a play here or there, but we have 11 guys who will come back and make it happen on the next play.”
A lot of fans may overlook the defense because of the offense’s big play capabilities, but not head coach Andrew Saris.
“We always joke, the (defensive players) practice, too,” Saris said. “They never give up. Even if (the opponent) gets the ball in the red zone, they’re not going to let them in (the end zone). And if they do, they’re not going to hang their heads low. If they get another series, they’re going to make the most of it.”
The Minutemen finished with six touchdowns, including scoring runs of six yards by Allen and one yard by Markale Martin, and saw the lead grow to as many as 31 points (44-13) in the final quarter.
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“We’re having a lot of fun playing football and we’re treating the mental part of the game as extremely important,” Saris said. “Watching film, they understand why we’re doing what we’re doing, and it’s exciting.
“From what I’ve been watching, it’s showtime. They’re coming out, putting on a show, and they’re having fun doing it.”
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: ‘It’s showtime’ as Lex routs New Philly, keeps OCC title hopes alive
