Lexington Minutemen ready to establish consistency in football program
LEXINGTON — Being on their third coach in three years, the Lexington football program is begging for consistency.
So, it went out and tabbed a young, energetic coach as the next guy in charge, and things are already looking up.
With the hiring of first-year coach Andrew Saris, Lexington sent a clear message that it is time to move forward with the idea of building a consistent presence at head coach in order to take advantage of the talented athletes walking the halls.
The hopes are 2022 is just the start of something special, and there is no reason why immediate success cannot be enjoyed.
After going 4-7 last season with a playoff berth, Lexington brings back 21 returning lettermen, including six starters on offense and nine on defense. Despite losing nine seniors, Saris is excited at the prospects he has coming back, which includes 16 seniors who have paid their dues in the program and deserve success.
"Our team will be led by our 16 seniors," Saris said. "They have been playing together since they were kids and have a lot of fun playing the game with each other. Our X-factor will be the bond between those seniors."
Senior running back and defensive back Jordan Beireis will be the focal point of the offense. Last season he ran for 177 yards and three touchdowns while recording 50 tackles, five for a loss, including a sack and a forced fumble on defense. Senior wide receiver Cam Crago will look to make a name for himself in his first varsity action along with seniors Jamerrion Feagin, Connor Neuenschwander, Jackson Windom and DJ Johnson and junior Carter Newman.
Newman was the leading receiver for Lex last year with 15 catches for 355 yards and two touchdowns.
Two-way lineman Matt Dwyer, an All-Ohioan a year ago, is also back to anchor the offensive and defensive lines. Dwyer recorded 37 tackles, including eight sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery last season. Along with juniors Aedan Nicol and Matt Sheets and seniors Rael Maservey, Owen Taylor and Dylan Weingartner, Dwyer helped pave the way for the Minutemen to run for 1,793 yards last season on the season.
Senior Hudson Moore will see time at running back after spending the majority of his time on defense last season, when he led the team in tackles with 65. He also recorded five sacks and had an interception. He will be joined at linebacker by senior Bryer Miller and junior Mason Green.
Senior Baden Forup is slated to start at tight end and defensive line. Last season, he caught eight passes for 207 yards and a touchdown.
Senior's AJ Young and Dylan Jamieson will both likely see time at quarterback. Jamieson has the only returning completion from last year. Young will also do the kicking and punting after he nailed 22 of 25 extra points and 5 of 9 field goals with a long of 40 yards last season.
Freshman Brayden Fogle will also be counted on to be a weapon on the outside at wide receiver.
"Our offense this season will start with a well-balanced run game with the ability to spread the ball outside to our athletes in space," Saris said. "Defensively, for us to be able to defend the multiple offense sets we will see on our schedule, our defense will need to be able to give multiple different looks to defend."
As a first-year coach, Saris is learning his personnel on the fly and has an excitement about the players he has on the roster. But before the Minutemen go talking championships, he wants to set an early and obtainable goal that can be checked off multiple times throughout the season.
"Our team goal is simple — to achieve team success, we must strengthen our individual football skills every day," Saris said.
If the Minutemen can do that, they hope to be in the conversation for an Ohio Cardinal Conference championship.
"The OCC is a conference with many great football teams," Saris said. "The team who comes out every week showing the most consistency will have the most success this season."
Lexington kicks off its season on Aug. 18 at Ontario.
jfurr@gannett.com
740-244-9934
Twitter: @JakeFurr11
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington Minutemen football wants to compete in Ohio Cardinal Conference
