Lexington hammers Shelby in second half

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Carl Hunnell, Mansfield News Journal

SHELBY -- Leading by a touchdown at halftime, Lexington got downright defensive in the game's final 24 minutes.

The result was a second-half rout as the Minutemen rolled to a 42-6 nonleague victory Friday at W.W. Skiles Field.

On its first five possessions of the second half, Shelby (1-1) netted only five yards, tossed two interceptions,

coughed up a fumble and fired a snap over the punter's head that was downed on the Whippets' 5-yard line.

Lexington (2-0) turned three of those five mistakes into TDs -- one on an interception returned 10 yards by all-Ohio linebacker Kevin Smith.

"We have played well defensively all along, including the summer scrimmages," Lexington coach B.J. Payne said. "Our defense is key for us. We want to play aggressive on defense. When the ball is hanging in the air, I like our chances of coming down with it."

Shelby coach Chris Solis recognized the gifts his offense offered up to Lexington.

"Right now we are just not a good second-half team," he said. "We didn't do anything to start the second half tonight and we didn't do anything to start the second half last week (in a 14-13 win at Madison).

"We know Lexington has a lot of kids with big-play potential. But I think we beat ourselves in the second half. Don't get me wrong, Lexington has a good team. But if you give me the ball at your end of the field so many times, I think we could score, too."

The defensive effort helped Lexington overcome its second straight inconsistent offensive performance. Lex trailed 6-0 in the first quarter after Shelby sophomore running back Will Lance scored on a 22-yard run at the 4:31 mark. The Minutemen managed just one first down and zero points in the period.

Lexington didn't get on the board until senior RB Brian Byrne scored on an 18-yard run with 7:38 left in the second. Senior QB Courtney Avery broke a couple of tackles and burst up the middle on a 54-yard TD run less than three minutes later.

Byrne finished with three TD runs, rushing for 39 yards on nine carries. Avery completed 14 of 26 passes for 202 yards, rushing for a net of 40 yards on seven attempts.

Eight Lexington receivers caught passes, led by A.J. Beddow's two catches for 71 yards.

"We again didn't get into any kind of a flow or rhythm on offense," Payne said. "Sooner or later, it's going to come back to haunt us. The mistakes we are making offensively are unacceptable."

Lexington had three receivers drop passes in the first half and had another fumble the ball away inside the Shelby 5-yard line after making a catch.

"Our skill people have got to make plays when we get them the ball," Payne said.

Shelby again struggled on offense without the full services of junior QB Zach Strine. Senior Andre Rhode, normally a tight end, again started at quarterback, completing just two of 11 passes for one net yard and one interception. He rushed for 30 yards on 12 carries.

Strine, with an injured leg, came off the bench to try to give the Whippets a lift. But he tossed two interceptions in three passing attempts and rushed for just seven yards on six carries.

"Looking back, I thought Andre did a nice job of moving the ball early for us," Solis said. "I am kind of second-guessing myself on using Zach. He didn't take a snap in practice this week, but he told me he was ready to play. I probably shouldn't have put him in there in that situation."

Lexington hosts Division I power North Canton Hoover next Friday night. Despite the fact Hoover lost Thursday night to Louisville, Payne said his team faces its stiffest challenge yet.

"We are going to have to play our best game of the year, on offense and defense. We are finally at that point of the season everyone has been talking about. On Friday night, we will see if can live up to the hype."

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2009 Lexington Minutemen