Lexington snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in their season opener to the 2025 football season last Friday night at Floyd West Field.

The Bulldogs trailed Elmore City by 14 points, 32-18, in the fourth quarter before rallying to tie the game at 32-all and win it in overtime, 40-38.

After pulling to within six with just over two minutes to play, the Bulldog defense came up with a big turnover setting up the Lexington offense back in business.

The feisty ‘Dawgs knotted the score at 32-all sending the nail-biter into overtime.

Lexington won the toss and elected to play defense.

The Badgers scored on their third play, the Bulldog defenders got a stop on the two point conversion.

The ‘Dawgs scored on their second play in OT and leaned on “Mr. Everything” quarterback Cadyn Krueger to make the two-yard plunge to victory on a lead play and the celebration was on.

Krueger scored five touchdowns on the night rushing for 276 yards on 31 carries and throwing for another 69 yards for a total offense of 345 yards.

Head coach Keith Bolles said Krueger also played a whale of a game on defense as well, making 11 tackles and had two pass breakups.

“He had a really good night but, overall, our offense had a good night,” Bolles said.

“Our offensive line of Issac Martin, Trace Bradsher, Jackson Beers, Ryder and Levi Alexander all played well. And, Cale Garver had an outstanding game at tight end. He had a couple of big catches and did a good job of blocking, too.”

The coach had high praise for Jonathan Dodd and Jaxon Torres as well.

“They play cornerback on defense and did a good job of covering but they also play wide receiver and a great job of blocking down field that helped us on some long runs,” Bolles said of Cody Rollins, Colby Haynes and Chase Koster

The head coach had high praise for the play of running backs Cody Rollins, Colby Haynes and Chase Koster.

“The whole offense played well,” Bolles confirmed. “For week one everyone did a really good job.

“But the thing I liked most for what happened Friday night was the fact that our offense didn’t panic. We didn’t throw the game plan away. We stuck with it, stuck with the things we can do and chipped away.

“Our coaches did an outstanding job with game plan and we had a lot of guys who didn’t have variety experience step up,”

Bolles continued. “They did what we asked them to do. It was a great opening game for us.”

Defensively, Bolles said Issac Martin, Cale Garver and Krueger all played outstanding.

Martin registered 10 tackles, caused a fumble and had a quarterback sack.

Downs made nine tackles and had a quarterback sack.

“Our defense was put in some tough situations,” the coach said. “Elmore had some formations we really hadn’t seen. That’s something we’ll have to build on.”

Bolles singled out the play of Colton Richards and Machaiah Downs, as well.

One area that was not on the top of the coaches’ list was the play of his special teams.

“They were not as crisp as I would have liked,” Bolles said. “We gave up a long punt return. With us having this week off we will spend a huge amount of time shoring that unit up. That will help us immensely  going forward,” he confirmed.

“We had a bunch of young kids in there and it’s pretty easy to get your heads down when your down 14 with six minutes  to play.

“But they didn’t get their heads down,” he said. “Cale Garver was playing linebacker for the first time. He made a lot of adjustments and played really well.

“It as a great experience and an experience that will help us get ready for the first district game. I’m very happy with the young squad. This is a great foundation for us to build on.”

Bolles said the fans were great.

“I’m very pleased with everything,” he concluded.

Bulldog notes:

Head coach Keith Bolles nominated Cadyn Krueger as the Offensive Player of the Week. Krueger rushed for 276 yards and five touchdowns and threw for another 69 yards for a total offense of 345 yards.

Bolles nominated Jackson Beers as the Offensive Lineman of the Week, who graded out at 65 percent against the Badgers.

Nominated as the Defensive Lineman of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week was Issac Martin, who made 10 tackles, had a quarterback sack and forced one fumble.