LEXINGTON — Every time he drops back to pass, Joe Caudill is like a kid on Christmas morning.

Lexington’s senior quarterback has more toys than he knows what to do with.

On one side is Brayden Fogle, who averages a team-high 19.5 yards per catch. The Georgia tight end recruit has 23 receptions for 449 yards and seven touchdowns.

On the other side is Seven Allen, who leads the Minutemen (9-1) with 34 catches for a team-best 654 yards. The shifty senior shares the team lead for touchdown grabs with Fogle.

Then there’s Avery Crawford. The senior has 20 catches for 256 yards and six TDs after missing all of last season with a foot injury. 

If his top three targets are covered, Caudill can turn to Dantrell Hughes. The senior  has 16 grabs for 175 yards and two scores and holds offers from Louisville, Ohio University and Kent State.

Talk about an embarrassment of riches.

“We have so many guys,” Caudill said. “I’ve just got to get them the ball and let them go to work.”

The offensive firepower extends beyond the ultra-talented receiving corps. Markale Martin has rushed for 468 yards and a team-leading nine touchdowns on 70 carries despite missing the first four games of the season with a wrist injury. Cole Eichorn is a 5-foot-10, 195-pound battering ram who averages 7.6 yards per carry. 

Then there is Caudill himself. The Michigan State recruit — he’ll play tight end for the Spartans — has rushed for a team-leading 589 yards and eight touchdowns on 105 carries. He completed 98-of-160 passes during the regular season for 1,562 yards and 24 touchdowns.

One thing Caudill and all of his weapons have in common is they are seasoned veterans. They are part of Lexington’s wildly-talented 20-man senior class.

“Most of us have grown up together,” Hughes said of the chemistry with his classmates. “We’re connected and hold ourselves and each other to a higher standard.”

Of the 20 seniors on the roster, 14 were recognized when the Ohio Cardinal Conference handed out postseason awards late last month. Caudill, who moonlights as a linebacker, was selected the OCC Defensive Player of the Year, while kicker and fellow senior Cohen Lautzenhiser was the OCC’s Special Teams POY.

“I think this senior class is just special,” said Lex coach Andrew Saris, the OCC Coach of the Year. 

Lexington’s high-octane offense averages 41.7 points and 353.1 yards per game. The Minutemen won eight straight games to close the regular season and captured their first OCC championship since 2016 with a sensational 43-35 win over Ashland in Week 10. 

Lex has scored 40 or more points in seven straight games, including a program-record 70-0 win over Akron North in Week 4.

Caudill and Co. will need to be at their game-breaking best Friday when juggernaut Toledo Central Catholic comes to town for a Division III, Region 10 quarterfinal at Robert H. Whitney Stadium. 

The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish (7-4) dispatched Ontario 35-0 last week in Toledo to reach the second round for the 15th straight season.

TCC won state titles in 2022 and 2023 and reached the championship game last year before falling to Columbus Watterson. Along the way, the Irish ousted Lexington 35-7 in the regional semifinals.

“It was definitely a humbling moment,” Caudill said of last year’s loss to Toledo Central Catholic. “You realize what you have to compete with if we want to go where we want to go.”

TCC competes in the Detroit-based Catholic High School League. The Fighting Irish are members of the CHSL’s rugged Central Division along with Michigan heavyweights Detroit Catholic Central, Orchard Lake St. Mary and Birmingham Brother Rice.

Third-seeded Lexington is looking forward to the challenge.

“If we do our job, we’ll be fine,” Fogle said. “We’ve got to go out and do our thing.

“If we focus on ourselves, the rest will take care of itself.”