LEXINGTON — The Lexington Minutemen leaned on their playmakers and grit Friday night, holding off a furious late rally to defeat Clear Fork 31-28 in a back-and-forth Week 3 showdown.
Senior quarterback Joe Caudill, a Michigan State commitment, delivered with his arm, legs and even on defense, accounting for two long touchdown passes, a 69-yard scoring run and the game-clinching interception in the final minute.
“It was a continuation of hard work throughout the week,” Caudill said. “Our o-line stepped up so much and me and Brayden, we stayed after practice all week just working on those go balls and it really paid off tonight.”
The win marked a breakout for Brayden Fogle, a Georgia football commitment who had been relatively quiet through the first two weeks. He caught two deep touchdown passes — a 58-yarder before halftime and a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter.
“Two deep balls, two great balls by Joey,” Fogle said. “All week, I felt like I wasn’t getting enough out of these last two games for my standards and I stayed after practice all week. Credit to him, he threw a perfect ball on both of them.”
Lexington trailed 7-0 early after a fumble set up Clear Fork’s first score. But after Fogle’s late first-half touchdown, the Minutemen surged.
Caudill’s 69-yard sprint in the third quarter extended the lead to 17-7, and after Clear Fork pulled within three, Fogle’s second touchdown grab made it 24-14.
The Colts refused to fold. A long drive capped by a rushing touchdown and a missed extra point trimmed the margin to 24-20 with 7:45 to play. After forcing a Lexington three-and-out, Clear Fork had the ball near midfield with momentum and a chance to seize the lead.
That’s when the Minutemen defense flipped the script. Senior receiver Dantrell Hughes ripped the ball away from a Colts receiver for a momentum-shifting interception, giving Lexington possession near midfield.
On the very next play, Seven Allen — the team’s leading receiver and a defensive playmaker through the first two weeks of the season — turned a short pass into a dazzling 60-yard touchdown run that pushed the margin to 31-20.
Clear Fork, fresh off upset wins over Sandusky Perkins and Zanesville, showed a lot of resilience. Senior receiver Devyn Oswalt caught two touchdown passes, including a 17-yard grab on fourth down to cut the margin to 31-28 with just over two minutes left. The Colts then recovered the onside kick, but Caudill’s interception stopped the comeback.
“Just persevered through tough things,” Lexington coach Andrew Saris said. “That’s a great Clear Fork team. It was just a battle — a battle between two teams that are playing really good football and are tough and physical.”
The Minutemen played the second half without leading tackler Brandon Reaves, who was injured in the first quarter. Saris said the team dedicated the victory to both Reaves and assistant coach Aedan Nicol, who will leave for boot camp next week.
“Brandon is the heart and soul of our football team,” Saris said. “It’s heartbreaking. He’s somebody our team looks up to. We’re thinking of him tonight and we dedicated this win to Brandon. We also dedicated this win to Coach Nicol.”
Despite the celebration, Saris and his players acknowledged areas for improvement. Lexington committed multiple penalties and turnovers, including the first-quarter fumble that spotted Clear Fork a touchdown.
“Gotta clean up turnovers,” Caudill said. “We gave them 7 points to start the game, we can’t do that. And clean up little ticky tack penalties. But it was great to see how our team fought in the second half.”
For Lexington, the performance showed the potential of a senior-heavy group with high expectations.
For Clear Fork, it was another spirited showing that underscored the Colts’ toughness.
“They’re a tough team,” Caudill said. “We knew we had to fight until the end. It came a little closer than we wanted, but we got the win at the end of the day.”
Lexington (2-1) will host Akron North next Friday night.
Clear Fork (2-1) will take on Ontario at home.
Photos: Lexington 31, Clear Fork 28 in a week 3 showdown
Photo credit: Zac Hiser
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