LEXINGTON — Lexington High School football coach Mike Castleman says 3,197 is a crazy number.

Quarterback Chris Beard calls it a number associated with careers, not seasons.

But 3,197 is in fact the number of yards Lexington’s T.J. Stinde has rushed for this season, breaking the state record of 3,127 set by Decatur St. Teresa’s Sean Dunning in 2005.

“It’s definitely an unreal number it seems like to me,” said Stinde, a 5-foot-10, 200-pounder. “I’m sure it will mean a lot to me once the season is over.”

At the moment, that number, compiled on 9.5 yards per carry and resulting in a state record-tying 45 rushing touchdowns, means trouble for Tuscola (10-3), the opponent for Lexington (13-0) in Friday’s 10 a.m. Class 1A state championship game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

Stinde has topped 200 yards in 11 games this fall while pushing his career total to 5,077, 12th most in state history.

“The more film you watch on him, the more impressive he is,” said Tuscola coach Rick Reinhart of Stinde. “He’s got surprising speed and unbelievable power and quickness. He’s the real deal.”

Tuscola’s record is deceiving, according to Lexington coach Mike Castleman. The Warriors lost to Decatur St. Teresa, Tolono Unity and Moweaqua Central A&M.

“They play in the Okaw Valley, which is an incredibly tough conference,” he said. “It helps them for the playoffs.”

Reinhart has been getting coaching help from assistant Stan Wienke, who was Tuscola’s head coach during 14 playoff appearances. Wienke’s 2006 team was state champion and the 2007 squad took second.

“He’s great to have around,” Reinhart said. “We’ve got a great staff here. We’ve got a mixture of young and old, but all young at heart.”

The Heart of Illinois Conference made Lexington battle-tested. The Minutemen weren’t sure they could pass the test in week two when GCMS came to town.

“We felt like that was a turning point for us,” said Castleman of that 40-12 triumph. “That was the game that really let us know what we were about.”

Lexington couldn’t find its identity during the 3-6 campaign of 2008.

“Coming into the (2009) season, we thought if we gave T.J. the ball 25 to 30 times (per game), we would have a chance to be successful every week,” said Castleman, whose star has averaged 26 carries.

Stinde & Co. will face a Tuscola defense which has posted seven shutouts.

“They fly to the football,” Castleman said. “They are very athletic on defense. They are not huge by any means.”

On offense, the Warriors use a spread formation with four receivers including all-stater Gunnar Edwards, who has 52 catches for 771 yards.

His quarterback is sophomore Phillip Meyer, who has completed 122 of 221 passes (55 percent) for 1,572 yards and 15 TDs. Meyer became the starter when first-stringer Jud Wienke broke his collarbone during two-a-days.

“He’s a threat to run,” Castleman said. “He’s very shifty. He throws a good ball. For a sophomore, he is very impressive.”

After watching seven hours of videotape on Tuscola Sunday, Castleman noticed the Warriors run almost 50 percent of the time led by Meyer’s 830 yards.

“We’ve only faced running teams so it’s going to be different,” said Lexington quarterback Chris Beard, who has completed 46 of 97 passes for 888 yards.

 “We’ve got to tighten down our zones and our passing windows,” said Lexington linebacker Jesse Kemp, who has a team-leading 86 solo tackles. “We’ve got to really play disciplined ball to beat them.”

 

Class 1A final

Lexington vs. Tuscola       

Time: Friday, 10 a.m.    

Where: Memorial Stadium, Champaign      

Broadcasts: WAOE (59), WJBC-AM (1230)