LEXINGTON, Ohio — Dana Shoulders wasn’t sure how he and his teammates had pulled it off.
It wasn’t that Lexington’s senior defensive end was surprised the sixth-seeded Minutemen had beaten No. 2 Sandusky in last week’s Division III, Region 10 semifinal. It was the manner in which Lex won that left Shoulders scratching his head.
Lex won despite turning the ball over three times on its first 10 offensive snaps — all in its own territory. The Minutemen coughed it up again to start the second half and trailed 19-10 early in the third quarter.
So how did he and his teammates dodge all those bullets in last week’s 30-19 win?
“Perseverance,” a relieved Shoulders said outside the visitor’s locker room afterward, “and a whole lot of luck.”
Luck favored the prepared — and Lexington’s defense was certainly ready for the high-powered Blue Streaks. Lex held prolific dual-threat quarterback Ja’Vez Alexander to minus-1 yard rushing. Alexander, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards through the first 11 games, was forced to throw more than he would have liked as Lexington scored 20 unanswered points in the second half.
“We put ourselves in some bad situations, but our guys are resilient,” Lex coach Taylor Gerhardt said. “They don’t panic and they found a way to get the job done.”
The Minutemen (9-3) will play for a regional championship for the first time ever Saturday against defending state runner-up Toledo Central Catholic at Tiffin’s Frost-Kalnow Stadium. The Fighting Irish are the top seed in the region, won the poll championship and boast one of the best running backs in state history in senior Michael Warren. The University of Toledo commit rushed for 275 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s win over University School and has rushed for 7,387 in his career.
Lex counters with senior Hunter Biddle, who has rushed for 1,484 yards, including 164 yards and two second-half touchdowns last week. Biddle has rushed for more than 1,000 yards each of the past two years.
“No team from Lexington has ever made it past the second round of the playoffs. We’re the first and it feels amazing,” Biddle said last week. “We want to keep this going.”
Lex will need another monumental effort against the Irish. Linebacker T.J. Gerhardt, the head coach’s son, is looking forward to the challenge.
“One of the things my dad stresses is play the next play,” T.J. said. “Is something bad happens we’ve just got to play the next play and keep on going. It’s been working for us all year.”
