Hoover @ Lexington

Canton Repository

SITE Minuteman Field, 7:30 p.m., Friday

RECORDS Hoover 1-1, Lexington 2-0.

LAST WEEK Louisville 34, Hoover 13; Lexington 42, Shelby 6.

LAST MEETING First meeting.

WHAT TO WATCH Hoover faces a versatile, major college recruit at quarterback for the second straight week. Lexington senior QB-DB Courtney Avery has committed verbally to Michigan. He completed passes to eight receivers last week after connecting with seven in Week 1. He is 32-of-54 for 470 yards with three TDs. He also scored on a 54-yard TD run last week.

Hoover has it own big-time offensive talent in senior RB Erick Howard, who has bounced back well the past two years in the weeks after being shut down by Louisville.

Lexington head coach B.J. Payne is a former standout at Massillon and Mount Union. He guided the Minutemen to an 11-1 season and the Ohio Cardinal Conference title last season. They lost to eventual Division II state champion Sylvania Southview in the playoffs.

The Minutemen feature a high-powered offense that has scored 42 points in each game and gained more than 500 yards in their Week 1 win over Mount Vernon. Lexington senior RB Brian Byrne scored three TDs last week. RB Derek Gallik rushed for 93 yards and two TDs in Week 1.

Defensively, senior LB Kevin Smith (6-1, 215) is coming off a big game. He returned an interception for a TD, recovered a fumble and made nine tackles a week ago, including a sack. DE Jake Eckstein had two of Lexington’s five sacks in the first game.

2009 Lexington Minutemen Season Preview

July, 2009

JJ Huddle

The Minutemen were the No. 3 seed in Region 6 last year and their only loss of the season came at

the hands of eventual Division II state champion Sylvania Southview in the regional semifinals.

This season, they have larger plans in mind.

Players To Watch – QB/CB Courtney Avery (5-10, 170, Sr.), TE/LB Kevin Smith (6-1, 215, Sr.), OL/DT David Willis (6-2, 255, Sr.), OL/DL Zach Myers (6-2, 275, Sr.), LB Terrance Cyphers (5-9, 205, Sr.), S Tyler Hamman (6-2, 205, Sr.), WR/S Shaquille Jefferson (6-1, 190, Sr.), WR/DB Kenya Coombs (5-10, 165, Sr.)

Outlook – The Minutemen were the No. 3 seed in Region 6 last year and their only loss of the season came at the hands of eventual Division II state champion Sylvania Southview in the regional semifinals.

This season, they have larger plans in mind.

Avery has verbally committed to Michigan and is ranked as the No. 28 senior in the state by Ohio High. He will play corner in college and he previously committed to Stanford before switching to UM. Avery has been Lexington’s varsity starting quarterback since the first game of his freshman year and he was named first-team All-Ohio as a defensive back last year.

He was also stellar as a quarterback in 2008 when he threw for 2,600 yards with 26 touchdowns and just three interceptions (and completed 71 percent of his passes). Avery was named the Ohio Cardinal Conference offensive player of the year.

Smith returns to lead the defense from his linebacker spot and he had 80 tackles and seven sacks last year. He was named honorable mention All-Ohio, first-team all-district and first-team all-league.

Willis is entering his third season as a starter and he was named honorable mention all-district and second-team all-league.

Myers and Willis are very comparable players. They are similarly-sized linemen that start both ways and they claimed identical postseason awards last year (HM all-district, second-team all-league).

Cyphers plays next to Smith at linebacker and was nearly as productive last year. Cyphers had 78 tackles, five sacks, one interception and was named second-team all-league.

Hamman is steady at strong safety and last year he had 65 tackles, one interception and was named second-team all-league.

As if they weren’t already stockpiled with talent, the Minutemen also welcome in a pair of talented transfers from Mansfield Senior in Jefferson and Coombs. Jefferson is the younger half-brother of former Ohio State safety Jamario O’Neal and has scholarship offers from Bowling Green and Central Michigan. Coombs was a starter at quarterback and wide receiver at Mansfield, but he won’t play any QB for Lexington unless something unfortunate happens to Avery.

“Our kids have worked hard this offseason,” fourth-year head coach B.J. Payne said. “This is a special group who has had one goal in mind for their entire football career. When we came here as a staff, this senior class was going into their freshman year, so it’s our first class we’ve seen go all the way through high school. They are a very mature group and rally around each other.”

Payne, who has a mark of 21-12 in his brief career, gave his thoughts on Region 6 as a whole.

“It continues to be tough,” he said. “I think when you look at the number of teams that have come out of our region to win the state title in the past seven or eight years, it’s remarkable.”

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2009 Lexington Minutemen