Going into Tuesday, Centralia hadn’t played a five-set match this season. Mexico had played two.

After dropping the third and fourth sets to Mexico (25-18, 25-17), Centralia took the deciding fifth set 15-11 to win its first five-setter of the year and give Mexico its first five-set loss after being 2-0 previously. The Lady Panthers won the first two sets 25-20 and 26-24 after going on serving runs to overcome a 16-14 deficit in the first and a 14-12 disadvantage in the second set.

Outside hitter Harper Forshee led Centralia with 16 kills, and setter Lexi Cook had 29 assists. Head coach Julie Crum said players like libero Katie Carrico, Morgan Ross, Addison Mabrey and Annika Hombs spread themselves “all over the stats.” For Mexico,outside hitter Jessica Stephens led with 21 kills and four service aces, libero Tessa Haefling had a team-high 30 digs, and Ally Wilson led with 18 assists.

Crum said Centralia was going into uncharted territory this season by playing past the third set as the Lady Panthers have either swept or have been swept in previous matches this season. Mexico had five-set victories against Kirksville and Marshall, so Crum said Centralia’s mental toughness had to be strong going into a fifth set after struggles in the prior two sets

“They like to neatly package up their mistakes and carry them all with them and it just weighs them down mentally,” Crum said. “Physically, these girls have so much ability, potential and power. I asked them before the fifth set, ‘Are you ready for this? Are you ready to come back?’ They took the floor, and they didn’t let down one time.”

Crum said Centralia’s energy, communication and focus was all there, which has to be the case against a fundamental Mexico team. The Lady Panthers played “for every single ball” like Crum said they should.

As was the case in the first two sets Centralia went on a run, picking up multiple service aces along the way. In the fifth set, it was Hombs behind the line as Centralia took a 10-6 lead following five straight points. Mexico refused to go away as Mabrey and Ross picked up kills to help close the match.

Mexico head coach Mendie Tutt said she is impressed with the fight the Lady Bulldogs showed to not only climb back in the match but have a chance for a win. Tutt said Mexico had to adjust to Centralia’s “topspin” serve that “goes and then it just falls,” but then throughout the third and fourth sets, Mexico placed the ball in spots Centralia wasn’t covering, especially the front row.

“We continue playing and continue fighting even though we are down, and that’s something we’ve been focusing on this year,” Tutt said. “We served aggressively, we swung aggressively, and we pushed into holes.”

At the forefront of Mexico’s resurgence were setters Ally Wilson and Lizzie Joiner, who “setting up my hitter so my hitters have something to do” and were good at “moving the ball around so their team couldn’t get comfortable.” Providing a dose of power was Stephens, whether it was close to the net or far from the net.

In every set from the third set onward, Stephens was serving while the Lady Bulldogs went on runs of at least 4-0 to wrestle back some control. In the third set, Stephens picked up three of Mexico’s six service aces on two separate 5-0 runs with her behind the line. 

“She is a player that if I ask her to put it in a spot, she can put it there,” Tutt said. “That’s a great benefit — if I ask her to serve it to a spot, she can serve it there. Having those accuracies as a player is important and is nice to have on the team. She is also a leader on the court too.”

Forshee and Ross each picked up kills to cap an 11-3 Centralia run to close the first set, Mexico was able to tie the second set at 24 but dropped it after a Forshee kill and Lady Bulldog error, Emily Moppin and JacLynn Cline softly finished for final two points in Mexico’s victorious third set, and Mexico was able to use some power with Stephens to push through Centralia’s blockers in the tying fourth set.

Crum said the Lady Panthers had to make defensive adjustments prior to the fifth set after having several balls hit down in front of them.

“Our defense really struggled to adapt to that,” Crum said. “Luckily we had that energy in the fifth set to power through.”

In the fifth set, Crum said she had contributions from several girls who provided hits and well-placed tips and knew when to “put the power on and pull it off.” Forshee and Raegan Anderson do this well typically, she said, but also had Hombs, Mabrey and Ross pick up key kills.

Centralia (8-6) moves to 3-1 in matches against district opponents this year while Mexico (4-10-1) falls to 3-2. Tutt said the fifth set could have gone either way, but she is glad how the Lady Bulldogs have fared within the district and in long matches.

“We’re not going to lay down easy. That’s for sure,” Tutt said. “If they’re going to play us, it’s going to be a match.”

Centralia hosted Montgomery County (7-7-1) on Wednesday before it welcomes Russellville (11-2) to town Thursday. Mexico plays at Southern Boone (4-7-3) on Thursday.

Cross country

Centralia, Bostick earn CCC championships

The best Centralia’s Jozelynn Bostick had finished at the Clarence Cannon Conference Cross Country Championships was second. Had finished.

After finishing as the runner-up the previous two years, the senior was crowned the conference champion Tuesday at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Kahoka after finishing first with a time of 19:40.20. She led the girls in winning another conference title while the boys also took home a title, with JR Lesher taking second with a time of 17:21.80. 

The girls finished with 27 points, having three first-team all-conference runners (top seven) and one second-team (7th to 14th place). Shelby Lewis finished fourth with a time of 21:14.00, Annie Robinson was sixth with a time of 21:44.10 and Kenedee Moss finished eighth with a time of 22:00.90.

The boys finished with 15 points, with John Holiman in third (17:44.60), Landon Moss in fourth (17:50.10), Carter Moss in seventh (18:24.50), Dryst Bostick in eighth (18:27.60), Elijah Hill in 11th (18:36.30), Wesley Robertson in 16th (19:20.40).

Football

Panthers balanced in 28-18 win at Clark County

Centralia’s run game wasn’t as strong at Clark County, but that didn’t deter the Panthers.

In the Clarence Cannon Conference and district matchup, Centralia moved to 3-0 against district opponents this season with a 28-18 win against Clark County, despite running for 165 yards this week. The Panthers still had 334 yards of total offense – 30 more than the Indians – as quarterback Cullen Bennett threw for 165 yards and a touchdown on 8-for-14 passing, with three of those throws going for at least 20 yards.

Kyden Wilkerson was held below 100 yards for the first time this year but had 90 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Bennett and Breylen Whisler each ran for a touchdown after Centralia was down 12-7 at halftime.

Head coach Tyler Forsee said Clark County has some big kids on the defensive line and smart linebackers that are able to plug the running lanes.

“We had to really keep grinding there,” Forsee said. “They got some big D-line guys, and their linebackers do a good job with making their reads and finding the football. We had to sustain our blocks just a little bit longer.”

Bennett threw a touchdown pass to Mattie Robinson for 39 yards in the fourth quarter to tie the game Clark County quarterback Callan Wheeler ran in for a score for the 12-7 advantage.

After Whisler ran in for a touchdown in the third quarter, Brayden Shelton sacked Wheeler to force a fumble that was recovered by Evan Brumback deep in Clark County (3-3, 1-3 CCC) territory. On the next play, Wilkerson ran in the end zone from three yards out to make it 21-12 Centralia.

Bennett was able to answer a 42-yard touchdown run by Wheeler earlier in the fourth quarter with a 15-yard scamper later in the quarter. Forsee said he likes how Bennett was able to throw the ball to make the team’s offense threatening in multiple ways.

“We have a lot of guys who can catch the ball,” Forsee said. “We’re trying to spread that out a little bit more and hopefully will loosen up the defense.”

Centralia (5-1, 3-1 CCC) has its homecoming game Friday against Highland (1-5, 0-4 CCC), who lost 52-12 to South Shelby at home in Week 6.

Softball

Centralia takes fourth in tournament, fatigues vs state-ranked Hallsville

It is that time of year in the softball season.

Districts are in the middle of the month, and for Centralia softball, the Lady Panthers need to battle through fatigue to finish strong. Centralia went 1-2 on Saturday in its home softball tournament, defeating Putnam County 16-1 and losing to a couple Class 3 state top-five opponents Chillicothe 7-3 and Hallsville 5-2. 

The Lady Panthers (14-11) lost the third-place game to No. 4 Hallsville (18-3), dropping the first meeting of the year between the district opponents before the Lady Indians return to Centralia on Tuesday. Centralia had two hits, with Hawkins recording two of them and Harper Sontheimer picking up an RBI. The Lady Panthers’ two pitchers — Kaelyn Walters and Meredith Wright — walked seven and allowed seven hits.

Head coach Elizabeth Bostick said her pitchers did a great job keeping the Hallsville offense in check as three balls left the infield in the first four innings. Going into Saturday, the Lady Indians were averaging 9.6 runs per game and have averaged at least nine per game in the previous two seasons.

“Hallsville prides themselves on being enormous hitters, and for five or six innings, they didn’t get anything out of the infield,” Bostick said. “Honestly, as tired as we are and doing what we are, where we’re at with how many pitchers and everything we have, I’m not that disappointed.”

Centralia lost to Hallsville in last year’s Centralia Tournament but allowed 17 runs in the defeat. Bostick remembers not having much pitching then either and will have to endure a tough schedule like the Lady Panthers do every year, already playing 10 games against state-ranked opponents this year.

At this point this season, Bostick said she doesn’t have one of her pitchers and No. 4 hitter Makenzi Adkisson available after sustaining a sprain in the 16-1 win Thursday at Clark County. She asked Walters and Wright to shoulder all the innings and they did admirably but acknowledged they reach a “fatigue point” and rely heavily on the defense behind them.

“They’re taxed by the time we get to the third game of the day,” Bostick said. “The pitching staff really did a good job. My fielders did a great job. We made the plays we’re supposed to and did the things we were supposed to do.”

Centralia’s offense saved three innings for its pitchers in a 16-1 win against Putnam County in four innings. Wright drove in five RBI, including three that scored on her first home run of the year, Jozelynn Bostick reached base every time while finishing with four RBI and two hit by pitches, and Wright and Walters struck out seven batters and allowed one hit.

Centralia trailed Chillicothe 4-2 after three innings, but the Lady Hornets started leaving the yard with three home runs. Chillicothe had hit three home runs in its 11-1 previous-round victory against North Callaway. Bostick, Autumn Hawkins and Tilly Fox each had two hits, and the two Lady Panther pitchers struck out nine in seven innings.

Now it was Hallsville matching up with the pitching staff after losing 5-4 to Macon in six innings due to a time limit. The Lady Indians scored their first run in the second inning on a wild pitch, added two in the fifth inning on a two-RBI single following three walks and Delaney Crocker hit a two-RBI insurance home run in the sixth inning, which is when the time limit would go into effect.

Centralia took advantage of three Hallsville errors in the fifth inning to score both of its runs but didn’t allow Hallsville to do the same. A big reason why was the catcher Sontheimer behind the plate, as many balls ended up in the dirt prior to being blocked. Sontheimer even caught a runner trying to take third base on a ball that leaked away from her in the sixth inning.

“You figure how many times she’s squatting down in a game, she’s squatting down 500 times and you’re playing three of those. That’s a lot of squats,” Bostick said. “She really fought hard for us, and I can speak highly enough of our defense of what they tried to accomplish.”

Bostick said Centralia can do better with getting the offense going earlier as has been the case for much of this season but also for much of this season, the Lady Panthers have hung around with those state-ranked opponents. They are 3-7 in those games after Saturday, but in their losses, the margin of victory has been 6.14 runs.

“We really don’t get a break,” Bostick said. “At some point, I hope that helps us be tough in the postseason.”

Lady Panthers' early power enough in 15-1 win at North Callaway

Centralia could have finished Tuesday with four home runs, but the two it hit were enough.

Harper Sontheimer and Meredith Wright each went deep for the Lady Panthers in the first inning as Centralia defeated North Callaway 15-1 in six innings played in Kingdom City. Sontheimer went 3-for-5 with five RBI, pitcher Kaelyn Walters tallied RBI along with three hits and one run in four innings, and Wright finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and two strikeouts in two innings in the circle.

Centralia had a 3-0 lead after the home runs in the first inning and tacked on five runs in the second inning and clinched the early victory with six in the sixth inning, with eight consecutive Lady Panthers reaching base in the sixth inning. 

Wright couldn’t have had two home runs, but North Callaway’s Ella Slater robbed her of what would’ve been her team-high third home run.

Centralia (5-2 CCC) hosted Hallsville again Tuesday and plays at home today against Clarence Cannon Conference foe Palmyra (10-12, 3-3 CCC).