LEXINGTON – State football powerhouse Kenton often blows away experienced teams that have spent much time preparing for the no-huddle, pass-happy Wildcats.
So imagine the predicament Lexington faced Friday night at home in a pre-season clash with no specific preparation and a 53-man roster that includes 41 sophomores and freshmen.
Despite being outscored 29-0 in a half of live action, new head coach Taylor Gerhardt came away impressed by what he saw from his team.
“We are preparing for Ontario (in the season opener next Friday). We didn’t look at film of Kenton and didn’t plan for them. I am proud of our kids’ effort,” said the 1989 Malabar High school graduate.
“We did see some things tonight that we now know we need to work on. We need to be more fundamentally sound in terms of tackling and we are not as well conditioned as we thought we were,” Gerhardt said.
“The good news is this young team is hungry and they are not afraid of working hard. They will study film, they will hit the weight room and they will practice hard,” he said.
Kenton was 13-1 last year, its only loss coming by one point in the state semifinals to eventual state champion Clinton-Massie. Sophomore quarterback Trent Hites showed an arm and legs that should keep the Wildcats in the state title hunt again this season. In one half of action, Hites (5-10, 165) completed 24 of 35 passes for 351 yards and four TDs, using his legs to evade a consistent Lexington pass rush and keep pass plays alive.
Meanwhile, Lexington struggled to move the ball in the half. Junior quarterback Joey Vore completed two of five passes for 20 yards. The Minutemen had a net of minus-four yards rushing, though sophomore T.J. Gerhardt gained 12 yards on four carries.
Lexington’s lone TD came during a controlled-scrimmage atmosphere after halftime when freshman running back Zac Cartee broke a long scoring run against the Kenton substitutes.
Gerhardt, the district’s junior high principal and an assistant on last year’s 1-9 Lexington team, said his team will benefit from the exhibition Friday night.
“It can help or hurt, depending on how you apply with it with the kids. We talk all the time about what time it is. It’s never the past and it’s never the future. You can only play for now. In a game, we have to be resilient and just play the next play. Our kids are buying in and they are playing hard,” Gerhardt said.
“We had some poor tackling tonight and allowed their quarterback to run around back there, giving him five, six or seven seconds to throw the ball. You give a quarterback that good that kind of time, he will find open receivers,” Gerhardt said.
Lexington fans can expect to see more attention to the running game than in past years. “We will be in the pistol, but with a zone run game and play-action passes. We want to get back to more of a hard-nosed running game this season.
“Defensively, we will be in a 3-3 stack. We are young and not very big, but we do have kids who are aggressive and will fly to the ball. We will swarm to the ball and gang-tackle,” Gerhardt said.
After the game, Gerhardt told his team it’s now “Ontario week.”
“They got us at their place last season and we are excited to get another opportunity. We know they lost some really talented kids and we are anxious to take a look and see where they are at. It’s a great rivalry game and we will be ready,” Gerhardt said.
“Our kids were 1-9 last year and they don’t want to go 1-9 this year.”
