BELLVILLE — Gang Green lowered the boom Friday night at the Colt Corral.
Clear Fork limited Lexington to 134 yards of total offense and the defense didn’t surrender a point in a 17-7 win over the Minutemen.
Lexington’s lone score came on an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Camron Glennon late in the fourth quarter.
“We’re a shutdown defense,” senior cornerback Nash Evans said. “Our defensive backs are sound. Our box is sound. We only gave up seven points and that was on a kickoff.”
What’s more, the Colts (3-0) did it without four-year starter Davis Hoeflich. The senior free safety suffered a right foot injury in last week’s win at Zanesville and sat out Friday.
“The free safety is the quarterback of your defense and he really is for us,” Clear Fork coach Aaron Brokaw said. “Alekai (Price) stepped up and played that spot tonight and I thought he did really well.
“He’s a guy that’s more than capable of taking over that job while Davis is on the mend.”
Early Offense
Clear Fork grabbed a quick 7-0 lead on quarterback Marcus Hoeflich’s 2-yard keeper with 3:01 to play in the first quarter.
It stayed that way until halftime as Lexington’s defense forced a turnover on downs at the Lex 24-yard line on Clear Fork’s next possession.
“Not being able to finish that second drive,” Brokaw. “We had one get away from us. I’d like to have that possession back.”
Versatility
Clear Fork pushed the lead to 10-0 in the third period on a 19-yard field goal by Evans. The do-it-all senior captain added a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter to make it 17-0.
Evans rushed for 16 yards on four carries and caught two passes for 47 yards. He also converted a pair of PATs, handled the punting and kickoff responsibilities and made several tackles on defense.
“Nash is just one of those guys who you can do a lot of different things with him,” Brokaw said. “You got to be careful that you don’t overwhelm a kid like that. He punts, he punt-returns, he kicks, he kick-returns, he runs the ball, he catches the ball.
“He can do a little bit of everything and he’s an excellent cover corner.”
New-Look Lex
Jayden Perkins, who lined up primarily at receiver the first two weeks, moved to quarterback Friday. The athletic sophomore rushed for 67 yards on 13 carries and completed 8-of-14 passes for 60 yards.
“We wanted to see if we could get our offense going a little bit, moving some guys around,” Lex coach Jacob Owens said. “Jaden wasn’t the only guy who got moved around. We had some other guys who got an opportunity.
“We just wanted to get a spark of some sort.”
The Minutemen twice turned the ball over on downs, once at the Clear Fork 24 in the second quarter and once at midfield in the fourth.
“We moved the ball, but … we would shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties. We’d get called for a hold or a block in the back, something silly.”
Conference Play
Lexington (0-3) will host Dover (1-2) in the Ohio Cardinal Conference opener.
The Colts will invade Copeland Field for a showdown with Ontario (3-0).
“That’s one we’re looking forward to,” Evans said. “They’re better this year, but we are, too.”
