SPORTS

Lots to like with Lexington football

Brandon Shields
bjshields@jacksonsun.com

LEXINGTON – The football team at Lexington was one of the teams represented Saturday when Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze spoke at Englewood Baptist Church.

Lexington returns enough talent this fall it should contend again for a Region 7-4A championship.

At the beginning of the night when each team was introduced, Lexington’s response was arguably the loudest of the group.

The Tigers have a lot to be loud about going into the season.

While their league, Region 7-4A, is among the toughest in the area and the most wide open when it comes to competing for the playoffs, the Tigers appear to be the team in the best shape entering the season among those competing for the championship.

There are a lot of teams that will have new quarterbacks if not entire backfields this fall. Lexington, meanwhile, will have a four-year starter at quarterback (Tylan Johnson) and experienced running backs and fullbacks like Kendall Bevelot and DeAndre Scott returning.

The offensive line will be relatively young, but that’s something the coaching staff has dealt with before and has been preparing for this time around.

“We pretty much have a full turnover of our starting lineup on the line about every two years,” Lexington head coach Bryant Hollingsworth said. “That’s the way it’s become for Lexington football, and I think the talent pool of our school in general allows us to be that way.

“And that’s OK because it gives the young guys plenty of time to develop before we put them out there against some tough teams with good defensive lines we play against each year.”

The defense won’t have the size it had last year with Tariqious Tisdale no longer up front on the line, but there’s a good amount of speed and experience returning with seven starters back from last year.

The defense averaged giving up about 16 points a game, and that number drops to less than 13 in the 10 games Lexington won.

The Tigers had one of the best seasons among local teams in 2015. They finished 10-3, but they finished third in the region.

While they finished third in the region, they claimed two wins over region champion North Side. They were also the last team from the region still playing in the postseason as they made it to the Class 4A quarterfinals.

Brandon Shields, 425-9751

Lexington Tigers

Last year’s record/finish: 10-3 and Class 4A quarterfinals/3rd in Region 7-4A

3 key returners: Tylan Johnson (QB); Evan Gilliam (DB); Kendall Bevelot (FB)

3 key games: Sept. 2 vs. Hardin Co.; Sept. 23 at Chester Co.; Oct. 28 at Crockett Co.