'We need this one': New Phila looking for third straight win as Lexington comes to town

New Philadelphia eyes a third straight win when it entertains the Lexington Minutemen in an Ohio Cardinal Conference clash on Friday night at 7 p.m.

The Quakers (4-3) secured a 35-21 home win over visiting Mansfield Madison Comprehensive last week.

“Offensively, (quarterback) Keaton (Fausel) did a great job, and Carson Long had two receiving touchdowns, Pete DiDonato had a touchdown and Keaton ran for one,” New Philadelphia head coach Mike Johnson said. “And Carson Long also had an interception return for a touchdown. It was Senior Night, and it was great to have seniors get in the end zone.”

The Quakers’ defense, which has been outstanding all season, was led by linebacker Vincent Migoni.

“Vincent Migoni was everywhere,” Johnson said. “I think he had 10 solo tackles, and somebody told me he had 10 assists. He was unbelievable. He was all over the field, and I was really impressed with his performance.”

After starting the season 0-3, Lexington (4-3) has ripped off four straight wins, including a 19-13 Ohio Cardinal Conference win over West Holmes last week.

“They are a good football team,” Johnson said. “They have a quarterback (6-5, 217-pound Joe Caudill) that just has an incredible arm. He’s a big guy, and he’s hard to tackle, and they like to run it with him. He’s the real deal. He’s got a target out there in (6-5, 220-pound wideout Brayden) Fogle who has just picked up (collegiate) offers left and right. He’s unbelievably good. Those kids are both juniors, so they have a really talented junior class.

"I think they’re just starting to click (as a team). It seems like now they’re getting on a roll, so we’re going to have to be at our best Friday night.”

Johnson is hoping to get one of his injured standouts back on defense this week.

“We’re hoping Myles Tyson is going to get back this week,” Johnson said. “He was a third-team all-state linebacker for us last season as a sophomore. We’ve missed him, but even missing him, our defense has been playing at a high level.”

This week’s game is also important for needed computer points in hopes of staying in the race for a postseason playoff spot.

“Where we’re sitting right now (21st in D-III Region 11), we’re not in, so we need this one,” he said. “Every game is a playoff game for us the whole way out to hit some of those milestones you talk about in the offseason.”

New Philly enters Week 8 averaging 26.8 points-per-game and giving up 18 ppg.

By comparison, Lexington is scoring 22.1 points-per-outing and yielding 19 ppg.

“I think we’re really going to have to contain that quarterback and try to get some pressure on him and hopefully get him to make some bad decisions,” Johnson said. “It’s going to take a pretty big effort from our guys, but I think we’re up for it. Our defense has been playing very, very well, and we want to keep that going.

"We need to play with the same type of effort every single play and really try and play our best game, because I don’t think we’ve put it together yet. We’ve been real close, but I’d like to put it all together.”

The Quakers hold a 2-0 edge in the all-time series with Lexington. New Phila won last season's matchup, 21-14.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: 'We need this one': New Phila looking for third straight win as Lexington comes to town