LEXINGTON — Could A.J. Young have done more for Lexington on Friday night?
Sure. He could have taken tickets at the gate, made popcorn in the concession stand or directed the Band of Gold at halftime.
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound senior had a hand or a foot in about everything else as the Minutemen claimed their first win of the season against Mount Vernon, 30-7, in the Ohio Cardinal Conference opener.
Young’s efforts on offense, defense and special teams — and a strong debut by freshman running back Markale Martin (19 carries for 132 yards and three TDs) — were more than enough to give first-year head coach Andrew Saris his first victory.
As the quarterback, Young guided the Minutemen to their best offensive output of the season, completing 10-of-13 passes for 110 yards, while also rushing for a TD.
On special teams, Young kicked a 45-yard field goal, put three kickoffs into the end zone, hit some booming punts and also squibbed a kickoff his teammates recovered.
1st quarter
No scoring
2nd quarter
Lexington — Markale Martin 32-yard run (PAT A.J. Young kick)
Lexington — Martin 5-yard run (PAT Young kick)
Lexington — Young 21-yard run (Young kick)
3rd quarter
Lexington — Young 45-yard field goal
4th quarter
Lexington — Martin 20-yard run (PAT failed)
Mount Vernon — Luke Hubbard 26-yard pass from Jake Taylor (PAT Jack Craigo kick)
On defense for the first time this season, Young picked off a pass and returned it 33 yards.
Afterward, Young praised his teammates and congratulated his coach.
“After an 0-3 start, we wanted to prove something tonight and we did it,” Young said. “Shout out to my offensive line and shout out to Markale Martin. He is running the ball hard, which opened up the passing game for us.
“We made the plays in the moments they were there and I couldn’t be happier about it,” he said.
Young noticed a difference this week in practice after Lexington started the season with losses to Ontario, Shelby and Clear Fork — three teams with a combined record of 9-3.
“Honestly, it was just our attitude. We came into practice like we needed this game. We wanted to win and get us back on track and I think we did just that,” Young said.
Perhaps the only mistake Young made all night came when he congratulated his head coach with time still left on the clock.
“There was like three minutes left and he was like, ‘Don’t say that too soon,'” Young said with a laugh. “So I am very happy for him.”
Saris returned the thought about his senior leader.
“Talk about a kid who had a heckuva night. Listen, I hope he celebrates tonight and has fun, but next week we’re going to need to do the same special things,” Saris said.
(Above: Lexington players and students celebrate the school’s first football win of the season.)
A former All-Ohio defensive back at Smithville, Saris said he was proud of his whole team, now 1-3 overall and 1-0 in the OCC.
“It’s fun. For me, it’s all about these boys right now. There is no bigger group of men that have deserved this victory. They have been through a lot … injuries, difficulties along the way.
“We’ve always had faith in ourselves and that’s all that matters. We always try to control ourselves. So to come out tonight and get this victory is really important for us,” Saris said.
The coach said Markale, who scored on runs of 32, 20 and 5 yards, ran with “anger,” stepping into a starting role due to injuries.
“It’s going to seem like it was a little bit of a coming-out party for Markale. However, we have known that special was inside of him. Just another kid that has to grow, prosper, mature and step up when the time is right. Great job by him tonight,” Saris said.
The new coach admitted a modicum of doubt had crept in after the slow start to the season.
“It’s human nature when you’re not getting the results that you want, to try to evaluate and reflect. And I think we have. We’ve gone back, whether it’s Xs and Os, or philosophically, we had to get our minds right.
“I thought we had a great week of practice. I thought we were focused and determined and I think that translated directly to the field,” Saris said.
“It’s not easy. We leaned on the support of our seniors, which I think was a really big point. We went to them and said, ‘Guys, this is your season. What do do we have to do to get ourselves in line?’ I thought they did a good job of of taking a hold of the team this week,” Saris said.
For Mount Vernon head coach Jay Campbell, also in his first year, it’s a matter of his Yellow Jackets (1-3, 0-1) learning how to play four quarters. Mount Vernon gave up three second-quarter TDs after a scoreless first period and trailed 21-0 at the half.
“We are working on the things that it takes on a regular basis to win. We’ve got to clean up our execution and just get better,” said Campbell, who came to Mount Vernon after five seasons as the head coach at Northridge.
Mount Vernon limited Lexington to nine points in the second half and got on the board with 27 seconds left when sophomore wide receiver Luke Hubbard caught a 26-yard TD pass from sophomore QB Jake Taylor.
“We started playing with the technique that we talked about playing with,” Campbell said.
“I think we played a lot harder in the second half than we played in the first half. And to be honest with you, we challenged our kids a little bit at halftime. I think they came out and played the way that they’re capable of playing. And again, we’ve gotta try to figure out a way to put that together for four quarters,” he said.
For the Yellow Jackets, senior QB Layne Kuhlman completed 13-of-28 passes for 133 yards. Junior running back Jonny Askew had 52 yards on six carries and caught five passes for 50 more.
Campbell said his message to the team after the game dealt with choices.
“The kids have a choice and the coaches have a choice each and every day … whether we’re going to come apart or whether we’re going to come together. Coming together is a lot more fun than coming apart.
“I think we’ve got a tight-knit group who’s gonna respond and have a good group practice. They have been coachable all year. We’ve just gotta figure out how to put it all together in a game,” he said.
Up next: Lexington hosts OCC foe Wooster (3-1, 1-0) next Friday night. The Generals defeated Madison, 35-7, in Week Four. Mount Vernon travels to Ashland (2-2, 0-1) next Friday. The Arrows fell to new OCC member New Philadelphia, 15-7 on Friday night.
