Coming off a 3-7 record in 2022, and a solid 3-3 mark in OCC play, the Lexington Minutemen, under the guidance of second-year head coach Andrew Saris, will look to climb the ranks with 10 returning letter winners and a strong contingent of younger players filling the gaps left by 14 players who graduated. Last year’s squad was a formidable 3-2 at home, but was outmanned on the road at 0-5.
Coach Saris said that to achieve team success, the team must strengthen its individual football skills every day and work as a unit. Supporting that philosophy, the team’s Facebook site runs a quote from New England Patriots’ six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick: “On a team, it’s not the strength of the individual players, but it is the strength of the unit and how they all function together.”
The 2023 squad returns five starters on offense and five starters on defense and Coach Saris will utilize the returning offensive players and younger players with a run-based offense. “Our offense season will start with a well-balanced run game with the ability to spread the ball outside to our athletes in space,” Saris said.
On defense, Saris will play the chess game of defense with an array of schemes. “For us to be able to defend the multiple offense sets we will see on our schedule, our defense will need to be able to give multiple different looks to defend,” Saris said.
Lexington’s coach understands the toughness within the Ohio Cardinal Conference and what it takes to compete. “The OCC is a conference with many great football teams,” Saris said. “The team who comes out every week showing the most consistency will have the most success this season.”
Saris said this year’s Minutemen will be led by its seniors, augmented by the skillsets of its underclassmen. “They have been playing together since they were kids and have a lot of fun playing the game with each other,” Saris said.
The Lexington coach said the team will rely on returning veterans. Those include the below:
- • Drayton Berry—senior DB/WR,
- • Cooper Dreibelbis—senior RB/DB
- • Mason Green—senior RB/LB
- • Carter Newman—senior WR/DB
- • Aedan Nicol—senior OL/DL
- • Matt Sheets—senior OL/DL
- • Carter Wilson—senior WR/DB
- • David Biggers—junior OL/DL
- • Cam Boozer—junior TE/LB
- • Joe Caudill—sophomore QB/LB
- • Brayden Fogle—sophomore WR/DL
- • Markale Martin—sophomore RB/LB
- • Gage Powell—junior WR/DB
- • Ethan Robles—junior RB
- • Seven Allen—sophomore WR/DB
- • Logan Beer— sophomore OL/DL
- • Cole Eichorn—sophomore RB/DB
- • Mason Frost—sophomore WR/DB
- • Dantrell Hughes—sophomore WR/DB
- • Hayden Rice—sophomore OL/DL
- • Keagan West—sophomore WR/DB
Lexington opens its OCC schedule at Mount Vernon, Friday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.
