Lexington got healthy, started winning

By Dion Clisso PrepsKC Managing Editor
Posted: March 18, 2011 - 4:07 PM



It took Lexington a while to get healthy and put all the players in the right places but in the end the 2010 season was a success for the Minutemen.

Lexington began the year with only one win in its first five games but a week No. 6 win over Trenton and a close 35-21 loss to eventual Class 3 state champion showed the Minutemen were ready to start playing their best football of the season.

 The coming out party was a 28-0 win over Lawson in the first game of district play. The Cardinals came in at a perfect 7-0 and ranked in the top 10 in Class 2. The Minutemen dominated that game and drew a lot of confidence for the rest of the district play.

“That was a big game for us there,” Lexington coach Tom Beck said. “It was the first game of the playoffs and nobody expected us to be them. They were ranked all year and deservedly so.

“That was the first game where our quarterback got back to playing quarterback. That game and the Richmond game was when we really starting playing better.”

Lexington followed that win up with another strong showing. The Minutemen beat Lathrop 40-6 and then defeated Hogan Prep 55-20 to win the district and advance to the playoffs. Lexington beat Trenton for the second time and then faced Penney in the sectionals.

The eventual Class 2 champs would end Lexington’s season with a 28-7 defeat but the Minutemen had finished strong after a tough start. Lexington ended the year 7-5 after the 1-4 start. The Minutemen finished at 2-3 in the Missouri River Valley Conference East which put them in fourth place in a conference that put five teams in the playoffs with all five winning games. The MRVC East proved to be one of the better leagues in the Metro with a 10-4 overall playoff record with Richmond winning a state title.

Coming off of the strong finish the Minutemen are working hard to continue the positive vibe around the program. Most players are in other sports and putting in time in the weight room to get ready for next season.

“Our size school we’ve got to have kids out for all athletics,” Beck said. “I really encourage our kids to especially go out for track because I was the track coach for 30 years so I know the value of the track program. We also have a very good baseball team so we have a lot of kids out for that as well.

”We’ve got a weight program at school so that helps out a lot.”