LEXINGTON — He won back-to-back district championships as a player, pocketed another handful as an assistant to Buck Morton and has piloted his alma mater to three straight Sweet 16 appearances and five in his eight seasons in charge at Lexington, but Peter Them never tires of raising banners.
Them and the Minutemen added to their collection after a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Richland County rival Ontario last week in the rain at Clear Fork’s Colt Corral. It was Lexington’s 13th district championship all-time and 12th since 2000.
“You gauge the success of your season on a district title. The expectation is to be here and win,” said Them, who graduated from Lexington in 2002 after helping the Minutemen win district crowns in 2000 and 2001. “It’s not old hat for me. I absolutely love this.
“It never gets old. This is a great feeling.”
Them began his coaching career as an assistant to Morton in 2006. The Minutemen won district championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011, reaching the Final Four in ’11. Morton stepped aside after the 2012 season, clearing the way for Them.
“We had an extremely talented squad and we were out in the sectional finals,” Them said of his first season in charge. “We lost in double overtime to Tiffin Columbian.”
The Minutemen have reached the district final every year since, going 5-2 in those matches. Them, whose career record is 111-36-9, guided Lex to a regional championship and a berth in the Final Four last fall. The Minutemen fell to Warren Howland 3-2 in the state semifinals last year.
To return to state will be no small task. Lexington hosts Granville at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the regional semifinals. The Blue Aces (11-3-5) beat Columbus Bishop Hartley 3-2 in overtime to advance.
The good news for Lexington is Division II poll champ and soccer heavyweight Bay is no longer in the same region. Lex upset Bay in the regional semifinals last year after falling to the Rockets in the regional semifinals in 2018.
“We’re going a different path, but I don’t think there’s any nights off,” Them said. “It’s tournament time. You’e got to show up and you’ve got to play the game.”
Lexington had its hands full against Ontario in the district finals. The Warriors scored just 17 seconds into the match and held a 1-0 lead deep into the second half before the Minutemen scored twice in the final 15 minutes for the 2-1 victory.
“They came out and wanted it more than us in the first half,” said Lexington’s Ryan Parker, who scored the equalizer with 15:02 remaining and assisted on Trevor Fehr’s game-winner with 4:33 to play. “We talked at halftime and we knew that we had to (score) next, no matter what.”
A senior, Fehr wants to add a new chapter to Lexington’s storied legacy.
“We have more places to go. We have more goals in mind,” Fehr said. “Now we just have to play like we want to get there.”
