Sports
Preview: MVL Contenders Set to Battle In Maysville
< < Back toThe Maysville Panthers (1-0) will play in their second straight conference game on Friday, as New Lexington (1-0) travels to Maysville. The two teams met in Week 4 of las season, where Maysville defeated New Lexington, 28-26, in a game that was the difference between second and third place in the MVL.
From a statistical standpoint, both Panthers teams were relatively even last week.
Maysville won their contest against Crooksville by a final score of 40-33, while allowing the Ceramics’ offense to earn 360 total yards.
New Lexington also won their Week 1 matchup against Fairfield Union. The final score of the game was 41-35, but the Panthers allowed more then 400 total yards.
The difference between the two teams was in their style of play. Maysville relied heavily on the ground game, running 50 run plays and throwing the ball just 14 times.
Conversely, New Lexington only had 15 run plays, but they were still able to put up solid numbers. Five different players carried the ball for a total of 150 rushing yards on the night.
“We are not worried about our offense,” New Lexington head coach Bill Nutt said. “We will do what we do … We just need to take every opportunity to score and make connections.”
Both teams have been working to improve their defense this week. Fairfield Union runs a similar offense to Maysville’s, so New Lexington has an idea of what they are up against and can plan accordingly.
Nutt worked on defensive drills to take on the Maysville backfield of Jordan Hayes, Eli Chambers and CJ Harris. The trio ran the ball for over 340 yards and combined for four touchdowns a week ago.
“We have to do a much better job on defense,” Nutt said. “We need to do a better job on fundamental defense… and play sound.”
Maysville, meanwhile, will be facing a completely different offense this week. The Ceramics were a run heavy team, but New Lexington relies on the passing game.
“We just have to read our keys and get off blocks,” Maysville coach Craig Clarke said. “Our secondary knew they had to help out on the run, but this week their job is to stop the pass. We know they are going to pass and we need to be ready.”
Maysville needs to be ready for New Lexington’s aerial assault if it wants to win the first home game of the season.
“We know we have a great crowd and a great student section,” Clarke said. “It’s always a goal to protect your house. We are excited to play at home, that’s for sure.”
Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Maysville High School.