LEXINGTON, Texas (KRHD) — Lexington High School football is entering the 2026 season with a roster full of new faces, but head coach Kirk Muhl says the program's standards have not changed despite losing 19 seniors.
Muhl said the lack of outside expectations has actually loosened things up for his group.
"The expectations aren't there. Now, our kids' expectations are there and mine, but as far as the outside expectations, so we're playing a little bit more loose and it seems to be a bit more fun," Muhl said.
With so many inexperienced players stepping into larger roles, veterans have been called on to lead — something junior receiver Kaden Washington said caught him off guard at first.
"At first I didn't think I was gonna have to play that big of a role in the vocal part of the leadership, but you have to play your part for sure because a bunch of these young guys, they have no idea what they are doing. So you just kinda gotta guide them in the right direction," Washington said.
The motivation to lead comes with a painful memory attached. Lexington finished last season with a 10-2-1 record before falling short in the regional finals against East Bernard — a loss that senior running back and safety Colten Smith said still lingers.
"We have not washed away from that, but we will come back and remember that. We got that in the back of our minds," Smith said.
Muhl acknowledged the roster will be thinner than in previous years, but said the work his players put in over the summer has him confident they can handle the added demands.
"There's a lot of kids who worked their tails off. Now, we're not gonna be real deep by any means. We'll probably be the thinnest team we've been. So we'll have to play more ironman football with our kids, but I think they are up to the challenge. They have worked their tails off this summer," Muhl said.
The Eagles open the season at home against Marlin on Aug. 28 starting at 7 p.m.
