Often you hear a coach say a quarterback has a cannon for an arm. The New Lexington Panthers have a Cannon for their quarterback.

Quarterback Clint Cannon, a 6-foot-1, 202-pound junior, is the straw that stirs the offense and he will be the key Friday when the Panthers take on the Ironton Fighting Tigers in the Region 15 Division IV regional semifinals.

“He’s a got a strong arm, but he’s a big, strong runner, too,” said Ironton coach Bob Lutz. “He throws the ball well, but he is just as big of a threat running the ball. You don’t arm tackle him. Westfall’s quarterback was a good athlete, but he might be better.”

Cannon has completed 115-of-208 passes for 1,587 yards with eight interceptions. He was the team’s leading rusher with 174 carries for 843 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Also in the backfield are R.J. Starkey with 703 yards on 107 carries and nine touchdowns and slot back Brett Wycinski with 354 yards on 41 attempts and two scores.

Wycinski is the team’s leading receiver with 41 catches for 611 yards and seven TDs. Matt Etherly has 36 receptions for 497 yards and five scores while Kyle Bush has 241 yards on 17 catches and a score.

“They’ve got good athletes who can run and catch the ball. It’ll be a lot like Westfall’s spread only they run the ball a little better,” said Lutz.

The Panthers (10-1) routed Meigs last week 42-14 to open the playoffs. Their only loss was 7-0 to unbeaten Sheridan who is still alive in the Division III playoffs.

New Lexington does not have a big offensive line, relying more on speed and quickness.

Pete Dennis at center is the biggest starter at 6-0, 255. Right tackle Adam Folk is 6-0, 235 and left guard Michael Caudill is 6-0, 220. Left tackle John Sherwood is 6-1, 200 and right guard Kevin Wolfe 5-10,195.

Defensively New Lexington uses speed rather than size to play a swarming style.

“They move around all over the place. They create a lot of confusion for your blocking and fill holes quickly,” said Lutz.

The top defensive player is tackle John Robinson (6-1, 175) with 104 tackles — 55 solo — and Wolfe at inside linebacker with 86 stops. Cannon is third on the team with 66 tackles at his linebacker spot.

Wycinski leads the secondary with five interceptions, Adam Fondale has three picks and Etherly a pair.