LEXINGTON — The Minutemen hope to spring another upset.
Lexington will head to Toledo on Friday to tangle with Maumee in a Division III, Region 10 first-round playoff game.
Lex hasn’t won a postseason game since 2018. That year, seventh-seeded Lexington stunned No. 2 Tiffin Columbian behind Mr. Football Cade Stover, now with the Houston Texans.
Lexington is one of four Richland County schools that will open the playoffs on the road. Here’s a look at this week’s games:
Division III, Region 10
No. 12 Lexington (5-5) at No. 5 Maumee (8-2)
Mistakes haunted the Minutemen in last week’s 30-21 loss at Ashland. Lex turned the ball over four times and the Arrows had two interception returns for touchdowns. Dual-threat quarterback Joe Caudill accounted for 2,204 all-purpose yards during the regular season. He completed 146-of-263 passes for 1,754 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 450 yards and seven TDs on 138 carries. Caudill has a trio of talented receivers to throw to in Brayden Fogle, Seven Allen and Gage Powell. Fogle had 49 catches for 584 yards and four touchdowns, while Allen caught 42 passes for 562 yards and five TDs. Powell had 27 grabs for 315 yards and three scores. Markale Martin rushed for 184 yards and two TDs, while Camden Boozer ran for 178 yards ands three TDs.
Boozer was Lexington’s leader on defense with 100 tackles during the regular season. Martin had 91 stops while Cole Eichorn made 85 tackles. Martin had three sacks and two interceptions.
Second-year coach Evan Karchner has turned around the Maumee program in short order. The Panthers were 0-10 in 2021 and 2022 but improved to 5-5 in 2023, Karchner’s first season in charge. Maumee wrapped up its first playoff berth since 2020 and earned a home game for the first time in program history with last week’s 41-17 win over Otsego. Running back Cody Wulf rushed for 187 yards, topping the 1,000-yard plateau for the season. Wulf’s 83-yard touchdown pass from Ben Kubicz on a middle screen ignited the Panthers. Kubicz completed 6-of-7 passes for 169 yards and two TDs. Defensive back Eli Dodson returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to seal it.
Division IV, Region 14
No. 15 Elida (3-7) at No. 2 Shelby (10-0)
Elida clinched a playoff spot with a 49-34 win over Van Wert. The Bulldogs have a pair of explosive skill-position players in junior receiver and defensive back A’mari Wash and junior running back and defensive back Cameron Kaufman. Wash accounted for 300 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in last week’s win. He caught 11 passes for 262 yards and two TDs and rushed for 38 yards and a pair of scores on nine carries. He also registered 10 tackles on defense. Not to be outdone, Kaufman rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns, had six tackles and broke up four passes. Quarterback Ryan McGue has thrown for more than 1,400 yards.
Shelby put the finishing touches on its unbeaten regular season with a 33-14 win at Pleasant. Quarterback Brayden DeVito completed 24-of-31 passes for 357 yards and five touchdowns. The junior threw for 2,923 yards and 26 touchdowns on 160-for-235 passing during the regular season. Wideout Brady Bowman had 13 catches for 216 yards and three TDs against Pleasant. Bowman finished the regular season with 61 catches for 1,117 yards and 10 TDs.
Shelby boasted the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference’s top scoring defense, allowing 12.8 points a game during the regular season. Dennis Lafon finished the regular season with 100 tackles, while Sam Gwirtz had 88 tackles. Coen Sturts made 65 stops.
No. 14 Clear Fork (4-6) at No. 2 Ontario (9-1)
There may not be a hotter team in north central Ohio than Clear Fork. The Colts won three of their final four games to earn a Richland County-high 18th playoff appearance. Jay Jackson had a big night in last week’s playoff-clinching 34-10 win over River Valley, rushing for 125 yards on 10 carries and catching five passes for 101 yards. Jackson led Clear Fork with 38 catches for 569 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season. Quarterback Marcus Hoeflich completed 10-of-12 passes last week for 147 yards and touchdown passes to Mason Sansom and Devyn Oswalt. Hoeflich completed 66-of-112 passes for 956 yards and five scores in the regular season.
Clear Fork’s defense limited River Valley’s high-powered offense to 218 yards, 135 below its season average. Linebacker Devyn Oswalt averaged almost 10 tackles a game, while Sansom had 11 tackles for loss going into the regular season finale.
Ontario bounced back from its Week 9 loss at Shelby with a 33-7 win over Highland. Bodpegn Miller completed 14-of-28 passes for 166 yards and scoring passes to Clark Spearman and Alan O’Blisk. Miller thew for 1,514 yards and 15 touchdowns during the regular season while completing 107-of-177 passes. The Ohio State recruit also rushed for 1,489 yards and 14 TDs on 134 carries. James Mahon rushed for 150 yards and a score on 15 carries last week. Jon Mahon caught four passes for 62 yards and finished the regular season with 26 receptions for 422 yards and four scores.
Ontario’s ranked third in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference in rushing defense, allowing just 3.3 yards per rushing attempt. Linebacker Landon Sowards finished the regular season with 121 tackles after making 14 stops last week. Sowards added four tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception. He had nine sacks on the season.
Division VI, Region 22
No. 14 Crestview (5-5) at No. 3 Ottawa Hills (8-1)
The Cougars battled their way into the playoffs for a sixth straight year by winning five of their final six games after dropping four straight to start the season. Crestview’s surge can be traced to its defense. The Cougars surrendered 142 points through the first four weeks and only 44 points the rest of the season. Senior defensive back Tyson Ringler led the Cougars with 87 tackles during the regular season. Junior linebacker Jack Stephens had 70 tackles and a team-high 12 tackles for loss. Junior defensive end Karter Goon had 10 TFLs, including a team-high four sacks.
Junior quarterback Liam Kuhn triggers an offense that averaged 27.3 points a game. Kuhn completed 76-of-137 passes for for 1,218 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one interception. Ringler caught 34 passes for 548 yards and four TDs and became the school’s career receiving leader last week, while Goon had 17 receptions for 327 yards and four TDs. Gavin Barker and Nolan Moore each had 14 catches. Junior running back Ayden Reymer rushed for 575 yards and seven touchdowns on 100 carries while battling injuries throughout the season. Junior Bransen Hider ran for 359 yards and four TDs on 64 carries.
Ottawa Hills has won eight straight after dropping its season-opener to Gibsonburg, including last week’s 55-14 win over Edon in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference championship game. The Green Bears have won three straight TAAC titles. Senior quarterback Chase Miller led the charge against Edon, completing 12-of-15 passes for 267 yards and five touchdowns and rushing for 91 yards and a TD. Reddik Pillarelli returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown while younger brother Rocco Pillarelli rushed for 135 yards and caught touchdown passes of 43 and 42 yards. The Green Bears surrendered seven or fewer points in six of nine games.
Division VII, Region 25
No. 14 Lucas (5-5) at No. 3 Malvern (9-1)
The Cubs are in the playoffs for the 11th straight year despite last week’s 22-6 loss to Whiteford (Mich.). Lucas surrendered 358 yards in the loss, including 270 on the ground. Bobby Grover had an interception last week, while Dan Hockensmith rushed for 81 yards on seven carries with a 59-yard touchdown run. Hockensmith rushed for 734 yards and 15 touchdowns on 96 carries during the regular season. He also is the centerpiece of the Lucas defense with 97 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
Malvern is led by quarterback Jared Witherow. The senior completed 132-of-194 passes for 1,762 yards and 19 touchdowns during the regular season. His favorite target is Rodney Smith, who caught 46 passes for 822 yards and 14 touchdowns. Junior Ropy Simmons matched Smith with 46 regular-season receptions for 494 yards and two TDs. Junior Owen Ball leads the defense with 64 tackles. Seniors Drake Hutchinson and Braidon Miller each have five sacks. Smith has six interceptions.