MADISON TOWNSHIP — Peter Them and his Lexington Minutemen can rest easy.

The sky isn’t falling after all.

Dylan George and Zach Turlo scored second-half goals and the Minutemen rolled to a 3-0 Ohio Cardinal Conference win over Madison on Tuesday.

Lex (8-1-1, 5-0-1) can win an outright OCC title with a victory over Wooster on Oct. 3. The Generals (8-4-1, 6-0-0) beat New Philadelphia 8-1 on Tuesday.

A surprising 1-1 draw against Mount Vernon on Sept. 12, followed by a 1-0 loss to Rocky River, left the Minutemen questioning themselves at the season’s midway point.

“We were 7-1-1 (going into Tuesday’s game) and it was like our world was upside-down,” Them said. “That is the enormous amount of pressure we put on ourselves in this program and the responsibility these guys (feel) trying to carry that legacy.”

The pressure was building Tuesday before Will Perkins broke a scoreless tie in the 32nd minute with a left-footed goal off a Turlo assist, leading Lex to a 1-0 lead.

It would be more than 40 minutes before George gave the Minutemen some breathing room with a nifty goal off a Perkins assist for a 2-0 edge with 8:14 remaining in the second half.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Will on the pass,” George said. “I took the touch and it was a one-time finish.

“Coming into the second half I knew we needed at least one or two more (goals). That second one really put the nail in the coffin.” 

Turlo put an exclamation point on the victory with a spectacular header off a free kick by Jaxson Husty with 2:49 left. Husty sent the ball into the box, where Turlo made a run to the near post and flicked the ball with his back to the goal.

The loss was just the second of the season for the Rams (9-2-1, 3-2-1).

“Overall in the second half I feel like we outplayed them,” Madison coach Tim Lord said. “It just didn’t go our way. The ball didn’t go in the net. We had a couple of opportunities that just didn’t go in.” 

Lexington’s victory set up a winner-take-all game against Wooster at Lexington next week. The Minutemen and Generals have won or shared the last seven OCC titles.

Wooster beat Lex 3-1 last year.

“We’re going to Bay (for a non-conference game) on Saturday … but the biggest thing is preparing ourselves for Tuesday,” Them said. “That is the OCC championship game. We’ve got a little unfinished business from last year. 

“It’s going to be a dogfight just like this one. It’s going to be a good one.”