Grateful Gerhardt returns to sideline, leads Lexington to 45-0 win over Ontario

LEXINGTON — Taylor Gerhardt looked into the north end zone Thursday night just before kickoff, seconds before his first game in three years as Lexington’s football coach.

“I will be honest with you. I looked down there and my dad is sitting in a golf cart with my daughter. I was just thankful to be doing what I love, what my dad taught me, that my family was around me. My son is coaching with me on the sideline,” Gerhardt said. “I just thought to God, ‘Thank you for putting me in this place.’”

“I didn’t imagine I would be coming back,” Gerhardt said. “You just never know what life brings you. I am just blessed to be around these kids again.”

The coach was especially happy after his Minutemen opened the season with a 45-0 dominating win over cross-county rival Ontario.

Gerhardt coached Lexington for five seasons before stepping aside after 2018, continuing as the junior high school principal. Included in his tenure was a pair of playoff teams.

This year’s team is coming off a 2-8 record from a year ago, but returns 19 lettermen and a bevy of new assistant coaches. Gerhardt said he is thrilled with his squad and his staff.

“First and foremost, I need to thank my coaching staff. I have been blessed with guys that are willing to work with me. We have over 200 years of experience on this staff. That’s no lie. Those guys are working so hard and getting those kids where they need to be, executing and staying on task. It can’t happen without those guys,” Gerhardt said.

“And then for those kids to have come back from the struggles they did … I haven’t been around a group that’s worked as hard and been as positive since our playoff run in 2016. I am telling you … this is a special group here.”

The Minutemen were certainly special Thursday night, jumping to a 21-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game, including two TD dashes by senior running back Karson Berry (8 yards, 53 yards) and one by senior running back Corbin Green (77 yards).

Berry finished with 110 yards on 13 carries and also had an 88-yard kickoff return for a third score. Green added 91 yards on five attempts.

That fast start took a toll on an Ontario team that graduated 18 seniors from last year’s 6-4 squad.

“We have just got to get better at practice,” Ontario coach Chris Miller said. “We just got kind of quiet tonight and back on our heels, kind of not knowing where to go, what to do, what questions to ask.

“As a young team, we got kind of shell-shocked. I told the guys after the game no one cares how old you are. No one is going to take it easy on you because you are a sophomore or a freshman. We just need to grow up quickly.

“We can either learn from these lessons and try to get better every week or that’s when things start to unravel and people start looking around and playing the blame game,” Miller said.

“I think right now our spirits are OK. You don’t want to lose a game like that, but the message to the team is to just show up and work, control what you can control and put a little more effort in the learning of the game of football.”

Gerhardt, whose team also got two TD passes from senior QB Cole Pauley (43 yards to sophomore Carter Newmann and 40 yards to senior Caden Eichler) and a 40-yard field goal by junior A.J. Young, said his team did what it needed to do.

“We needed to be able to run the ball and to be able to throw the ball when we wanted to, and to play defense. Now we have got to clean some things up offensively and defensively, watch the film, enjoy it, and get back to work,” Gerhardt said.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Lexington rushed for 201 yards on 30 attempts and completed nine of 16 passes for 119. Ontario was held to six yards on 22 runs and completed 10 of 19 passes for 57 yards. Pauley, an OSU baseball recruit as a pitcher, finished 4 of 7 for 109 yards and the two TDs.

UP NEXT: Lexington plays at Shelby on Aug. 27. Ontario is at Highland that same night.