LEXINGTON — Scott Hamilton will play the hand he was dealt, even if Lexington’s veteran coach hardly recognizes the cards he’s holding.
That the Minutemen are 4-1 through the first three weeks is a testament to Hamilton’s ability to adapt.
Lexington won the the past three Ohio Cardinal Conference crowns thanks to a talented group of underclassmen.
With a vast majority of those players heading into their senior seasons, 2025-26 was to be the exclamation point on a remarkable four-year stretch.
Instead, the exclamation point turned into a question mark.
Brayden Fogle and Joe Caudill decided to forego their senior seasons to get a jump-start on their college football careers. Fogle will play for Georgia while Caudill will suit up for Michigan State.
The waters became even murkier when seniors Latrell Hughes and Markale Martin opted out, too. Hughes is one of the top middle-distance runners in the nation and is focusing on indoor track this winter. Martin recently committed to play baseball at Findlay and is still rehabbing a wrist injury.
The only two holdovers from the OCC championship teams are seniors Seven Allen and Dantrell Hughes, Latrell’s twin brother.
They’re joined by a supporting cast that includes Daniel Hudson, Elijah White, Ethan Bianchi, Jayden Perkins and Jace Dawson.
“We’ve got some young kids who will have to play up,” said Allen, who scored his 1,000th point earlier this season. “It’s going to look a lot different, but it’s going to be fun.”
Allen averages 19.6 points a game, while Hughes averages 12.2 points a night. In addition to their on-court production, the duo provides leadership.
“Those are the only two guys who have any varsity experience,” Hamilton said. “I’ve had our two seniors in the office a number of times really preaching, ‘You’ve got to bring these young guys along.’ ”
It’s a role Allen and Hughes don’t take lightly.
“We’ve got to take them under our wing and teach them,” Allen said.
The Minutemen picked up a confidence-building, 63-61 win over Mansfield Senior earlier this week. Perkins scored the game-winner in the closing seconds.
“Dantrell and Seven have been talking to us and bringing us together,” said Perkins, who averages 9.6 points a game. “I feel like that has helped us in big games.”
As good as the Minutemen have been in the early-going, they have hardly scratched the surface. The football team’s success resulted in a late start.
“We did not get a good November with football and we even had some injuries coming off of football,” Hamilton said. “We still haven’t had everybody together.”
It should make for a fun, albeit it unexpected, season for the Minutemen.
“We’ve just got to keep building on it and hopefully our confidence continues to grow,” Hamilton said. “Noting is won in December in the grand scheme of things, but I’m real happy with where these guys are at right now.”