Football Game Preview: New Lexington Panthers vs. Indian Valley Braves

Two dominant backs in Paul Stenson and Grady Kinsey are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The New Lexington Panthers will host the Indian Valley Braves at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

New Lexington is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Unioto 47-14. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine contests by 20 points or more this season.

Tyson Spicer

Receiving Yards

11/14/25 vs Unioto	91
10/24/25 vs Sheridan	38
10/17/25 @ Crooksville	74
10/10/25 @ Meadowbrook	34
10/03/25 vs Maysville	4
+ 4 more games

Tyson Spicer was nothing short of spectacular: he picked up 91 receiving yards and a pair of scores, and also threw for 27 yards and one TD. That's the most receiving yards he has posted since back in September.

Meanwhile, Indian Valley strolled past Jonathan Alder with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 47-28. Given the Braves' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 18th, while the Pioneers are ranked 74th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

The win made it two in a row for New Lexington and bumps their season record up to 11-1. The victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 14 points in those games. As for Indian Valley, their win bumped their record up to 11-0.

Friday's game might be decided on the ground. New Lexington has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 246.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Indian Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 270.2 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's matchup turns into a tough fight on the ground.

New Lexington ended up a good deal behind Indian Valley in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, losing 42-23. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Kinsey, who rushed for 156 yards and five touchdowns. Now that the Panthers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.