New Lex football’s seniors are a ‘special’ blend of personalities
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington’s Colton Mathias breaks away from the Heath defense on his way to score during the host Panthers’ 24-17 victory at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington’s Colton Mathias breaks away from the Heath defense on his way to score during the host Panthers’ 24-17 victory at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
Heath’s Kylen Watson attempts to make a catch along the sideline against New Lexington’s Hudson Gardner during the visiting Bulldogs’ 24-17 loss at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington’s Lane Ratliff stops to cut inside of Heath’s Logan Richardson during the host Panthers’ 24-17 victory at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington’s Tanner Toth pressures Heath’s Ethan Grise during the host Panthers’ 24-17 victory at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington’s Tyson Spicer makes leaping catch over the middle during the Panthers’ 24-17 victory against Heath in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal game on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, at Jim Rockwell Stadium in New Lexington, Ohio. New Lex advanced to a third straight regional semifinal.
(Baylee Walcott/Special to the USA Today Network)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
Heath’s Tristyn Jones attempts to skip past New Lexington’s Tyson Spicer during the visiting Bulldogs’ 24-17 loss at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
Heath’s Tyler Marks and Jordan Mokel wrap up a New Lexington ball carrier during the visiting Bulldogs’ 24-17 loss at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington’s Tyson Spicer makes a tumbling catch with Heath’s Hudson Shumate in coverage during the host Panthers’ 24-17 victory at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
Heath’s Ethan Grise attempts to scramble away from a New Lexington defender during the visiting Bulldogs’ 24-17 loss at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington’s Eli Dixon runs after the catch with Heath’s Camden Stephens (33) in pursuit during the host Panthers’ 24-17 victory at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
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New Lexington football hosts Heath in Division IV
New Lexington beats visiting Heath 24-17 at Jim Rockwell Stadium in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal on Nov. 6, 2026.
(Baylee Walcott/The Advocate)
NEW LEXINGTON — The seniors on New Lexington’s football team are unique, diverse and highly unified.
They grew up learning the game as little guys, enjoying success at every level before making their biggest marks in high school. They’ve been part of 32 wins and played in seven playoff games the past three seasons, winning a pair of Muskingum Valley League-Small School titles in the process.
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They’ll play in an eighth on Nov. 13 when Millersburg West Holmes makes the near-two-hour trip to Jim Rockwell Stadium for a Division IV, Region 15 semifinal. And there is no question it will be an all-for-one, one-for-all operation as it eyes another Elite Eight appearance.
Tyson Spicer wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s really crazy, just thinking that it’s almost over with these guys,” Spicer, the team’s leading receiver, said after a recent practice. “We’ve literally played since the first grade. My dad (Ryan Spicer) was the head coach. We learned the no-huddle offense in first grade.”
Who’d have known that 12 years later, before a free thinker like Kevin Board ever arrived in Perry County to coach the team, that Spicer and Co. would be running the same offense. Board’s offenses have regularly been some of the MVL’s best since the seniors arrived in 2022.
They have long been identified as a class with lofty potential.
“Ever since we were young, we aways knew we were going to be something special,” Spicer said. “I think we have lived up to it, but we have a few more exclamation marks to put on the end of it.”
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Chemistry is their common ground, which is usually the case in a class with a 5-2 playoff record in three years. Even as some in the group have enjoyed more individual success than others — Spicer, lineman Eli Stephens and quarterback Lane Ratliff have been mainstays since their arrival — jealousy in the ranks has never been an issue. Nor have quarrels within the ranks.
Spicer said the bonds built through years of competition and countless hours of practice have only fortified their communication. That, he said, doesn’t end when practices are completed and players go their own directions.
“I would say this is one of the most tightly knit senior classes I’ve seen in my life,” Spicer said. “We all hang out on the weekends, go do stuff together all the time.”
In his case, it also doesn’t extend merely to the gridiron. Spicer is also one of the state’s top wrestlers, and football classmates Dalyus Nealy and Alberto Boggess are also grappling mainstays.
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“Doing both sports definitely makes you closer,” Spicer said. “In wrestling, you’re traveling together, staying in hotels together, cutting weight together, being miserable together. That stuff really brings you together.”
New Lexington nose guard Alberto Boggess is greeted by teammates Coleman McCoy (2) and Terrelle King (5) after a tackle-for-loss in the second quarter of a 58-20 win against rival Crooksville in a high school football game on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, at Jim Rockwell Stadium in New Lexington, Ohio. The Panthers pitched a second-half shutout to pull away for their 13th straight win in the series.
A melting pot of personalities
There is the vocal leader in captain Tanner Toth, a veteran linebacker and receiver, who many on the team — coaches included — consider the unquestioned leader and coach on the field. The excitable personality of Terrelle King, the team leader in sacks and tackles-for-loss, lines up making splash plays opposite him.
“We have a lot of guys who lead by example, but Tanner takes that next step,” Stephens said. “He’s not only a great leader in how he works and what he does, but he’s also a great vocal leader. That’s what makes him special.”
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There is Spicer, the fun-loving, furry-haired big-play man. There are the newcomers, Paul Nealy and Dalyus, who moved in from Columbus as middle schoolers. Boggess, a nose man who overcame a knee injury in 2025, moved to Perry County from Florida as a biddy leaguer.
All offer their own unique blends of communication.
New Lexington senior Eli Dixon consoles classmate Tanner Toth following a 43-36 loss to Sheridan in a high school football game on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, at Paul Culver Jr. Stadium in Reading Township, Ohio. The Panthers, who led 29-15 in the third quarter, finished a 9-1 regular season.
“For some of them, coming to a new school was different at first, but once we started playing football together, everybody meshed really well,” Stephens said. “We became great friends with those guys. They may not have grown up here, but once we got into sports together everything just clocked.”
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Board chuckled when describing Dalyus, one of tallest cornerbacks in the state at 6-4, whose colloquial offerings can be a bit obscure.
“He’s an interesting character,” Board said. “Oh, how would I say it? He’s the screwball personality. Some of the things he’ll say are just off the wall. It’s like, ‘what are you saying?'”
Quarterback Lane Ratliff and Stephens are the most experienced of all and, until 2026, two of the group’s most quiet.
“Lane is kind of like Eli,” Spicer said. “You watch him running over everybody on the football field, but if you don’t know him, I don’t know if he would ever say a word to you.”
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And Stephens?
“On the field, you think he’s this big, intense guy,” Spicer said. “But if you really get to know him, he’s one of the most quiet, soft-spoken guys you’ll ever talk to.”
Thankfully for the Panthers, their play is quite the contrary. Both Division I recruits, Stephens is a dominant two-way committed to Army and Ratliff, a 6-foot, 200-pounder, has an offer from Charlotte.
New Lexington’s Tyson Spicer celebrates with teammate Terrelle King, left, after catching a touchdown pass during a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage on Thursday, July 16, 2026, at Jim Rockwell Stadium in New Lexington, Ohio. Spicer and the rest of the Panther passing game hopes to be more explosive in 2026.
Both played alongside elder siblings in previous years. In Stephens’ case, he often followed the lead of his brother Isaiah, the team’s All-Ohio quarterback in 2024.
Board said that has steadily changed with age, however, particularly within the confines of competition.
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“When Isaiah was here, he was very quiet,” Board said. “He just did whatever, whatever big bro said. But since he has left, (Eli) really kind of come out of his shell. He’s got some good one liners.”
The common denominator for the group? When the lights come on, it’s all business.
“They all bring a little something different to the table,” Board said. “It’s a very special group. They’ve played a lot of games. Most of these guys played as sophomores. All of them played in last year’s regional final. … When adversity hits, they don’t panic. They’ve been there, they’ve done that. Experience is the ultimate divider.”
Stephens echoed that.
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“Everybody just kind of fits together really, really well,” Stephens said. “Everybody’s different. But when it’s time to go out there and play, everybody has the same goal, the same mentality on the football field.”
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