Football

Mexico blinks first in 43-42 loss to Kirksville

By the end of the third quarter Friday, it was clear the game between Mexico and Kirksville would come down to who had the ball last.

Mexico fell short 43-42 in the North Central Missouri Conference battle, losing on homecoming despite carrying a 28-14 lead into halftime. Kirksville took advantage of three Mexico turnovers and found spots in the secondary for 388 yards and five touchdown passes from Isaac Danielson – all of them going to Jalen Kent.

Anthony Shivers followed his four-touchdown performance from a week ago with a three-touchdown night Friday, scoring on two receptions that totaled 112 yards out of his 217 yards of total offense and running one in from 17 yards out. Jordan Shelton returned a punt about 50 yards for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass that accounted for 33 of his 93 receiving yards that gave the Bulldogs a 42-36 lead with about eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. Ty Sims completed 13-for-21 of his passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

Head coach Steve Haag said Kirksville (4-3, 3-1 NCMC) has a formidable offense that is capable of matching Mexico punch for punch, but mistakes in the game proved costly by the end, including Kent’s game-sealing interception with less than two minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs had a 28-7 lead after Shelton’s punt return score but lost a fumble to give Kirksville the ball back after the Tigers’ offense were forced off the field quickly for the third straight drive, thanks to sacks by Kendyr Taylor and Daunte Cline. Danielson hit Kent on a 50-yard play on the first play from scrimmage to make it 28-14 right before halftime.

“They’re a good football team, and it was a good battle back and forth,” Haag said. “There were some times we made some mistakes that hurt us. That fumble in the first half really hurt us because they scored right after two or three plays later.”

Within a matter of about seven minutes between the first and second quarters, Mexico responded to Kirksville’s first touchdown with four of its own. Much of it can be attributed to the contributions of Shivers and Shelton. Shelton beat a defender for a 37 yard catch that preceded a Shivers rushing score, Shivers ran it down to the three-yard line to set Andrew Runge’s touchdown run, Shivers turned a short Sims pass into points on an 88-yard play, and Shelton took the bounce on a punt into the end zone.

Shelton, in particular, was a tough matchup for Kirksville, Haag said, as Shelton’s athleticism means he has the ability to do many great things on the field.

“He’s a great athlete,” Haag said. “He’s as good, if not better, than everybody on the field. When he can catch the ball, he runs real fast and he jumps real high and he can make plays. That’s valuable on a football field, and it keeps people occupied elsewhere so other people can make plays.”

Kirksville’s offense was clicking again in the third quarter as the Tigers drew within a possession with eight minutes left in the third quarter. Drew Chrisman bounced off multiple Mexico defenders for a 23-yard touchdown run to make it 28-21.

Kent was the player Mexico’s defense struggled with as he seemed to gain yards after every catch he hauled in, finishing with 239 yards on 17 catches with 140 happening after the catch. He took a screen pass nine yards to tie the game at 28 with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. He burned the Bulldogs again after the catch early in the fourth quarter when he and Danielson connected on a 41-yard score.

“We just didn’t make the tackle, and they were able to run for extra yards, sometimes for a touchdown,” Haag said. “That’s the game. We got to make tackles, and we didn’t.”

Mexico (3-4, 2-2 NCMC) visits conference and district foe Moberly (3-4, 1-3 NCMC), who lost 53-7 at Hannibal in Week 7, on Friday.

O’Neal, North Callaway run past Wright City in 32-13 win

Braydn O’Neal carried North Callaway with his arm last week, but his legs were needed to make up some ground this week.

The Thunderbirds won 32-13 at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Wright City, scoring 32 unanswered points after falling behind 13-0 at halftime. O’Neal threw for 82 yards and a touchdown to Lane Kimbley but ran for 235 yards and three touchdowns of at least 20 yards.

Head coach Kevin O’Neal said Wright City’s defense upset North Callaway’s ability to drive down the field in the first half, committing two turnovers in the process.

“In the first half, we couldn’t really get into a rhythm offensively,” O’Neal said. “Wright City had a different look defensively than what we had worked on all week, so that threw us off. We went more to the quarterback running game with our running backs lead blocking for him.

O’Neal said Wright City’s defense brought pressure from different areas, had a different alignment on the line and had coverages that threw off the passing game. The Wildcats (4-3, 3-2 EMO) also limited Sergio Moreno to one catch for 15 yards following his four touchdowns and 154 yards last week.

When the quarterback is asked to run, O’Neal said there are different areas such as the offensive line that needs to be blocking well and the receivers and running backs are included in that mission. Moreno, Kyle Pennell, Eli Henry, AJ Siegel and Tucker Wright helped O’Neal make it to the edge on the quarterback-sweep plays. Then, it was just off to the races for Braydn O’Neal.

“He has good speed, quickness and he sees the field well,” Kevin O’Neal said. “He understands the game so that helps with all of that.”

North Callaway (5-2, 4-1 EMO) has won four straight and will host Montgomery County (2-5, 2-3 EMO), who was victorious in its second consecutive game after winning 22-14 at Louisiana in Week 7, on Friday.

Bennett throws for four touchdowns, Centralia defeats Highland 42-6

Centralia has weapons in its passing game. They just haven’t had a big presence until Friday night.

Head coach Tyler Forsee said it’s of no fault of their own as the Panthers’ running game has been strong – including in their 42-6 homecoming victory against Clarence Cannon Conference foe Highland when they ran for 224 yards – but the passing game took a step forward with quarterback Cullen Bennett throwing four touchdown passes to four difference receivers.

Bennett finished with 194 yards on 10-for-14 passing, completing a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Caballero, an eight-yard strike to Ethan Adams, an 80-yard score to Beau Hatton, and a 16-yard trip to the end zone for Cayden Dunn. Kyden Wilkerson added 108 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.

“We got a pass game going, and that was nice,” Forsee said. “It’s nice to get that pass game going because I knew it was something we could do – we did well on our seven-on-seven – but we were able to run the ball so well earlier in the year, that we got away from our passing game a little bit.”

Centralia started the season 4-0, rushing for more than 200 yards in each of those games. Bennett set a season-high of eight completions last week at Clark County before topping that number this week. The 194 passing yards are another season-high.

Forsee said Centralia had that long touchdown to Caballero in the first quarter but felt the offense started slow initially. The Panthers clicked when assistant coach Ben Sontheimer made some adjustments.

“He did a good job of simplifying a few things,” Forsee said. “We were able to speed up a little bit, and get our guys that can run the ball and let them do their thing.”

Having Bennett at quarterback makes it easier to involve more players in the offense, Forsee said, because of the skillset he brings to the position.

“He throws a very catchable pass,” Forsee said. “He throws with really good touch. His reads need a little bit of work, as probably any quarterback in the nation does, but he’s getting better every week. That’s important as we come down the stretch toward the end of the season – that he’s getting more confident in what he can do.”

Having multiple facets going well will be important when Centralia (6-1, 4-1 CCC) hosts South Shelby (5-2, 3-2 CCC) on Friday. Forsee said the Panthers should focus on the Cardinals’ passing game and quarterback Trey Countryman, who he said had 26-for-31 passing against Brookfield earlier this season.

“Their passing game is very good. I mean, very good.” Forsee said. “I’m hoping we can get after them and get things moving.”

Van-Far struggles in second-half, loses 37-14 at Crystal City

Van-Far head coach Lucas Gibson thought the Indians “dominated” at Crystal City in the first half Friday.

The second half, though, didn’t match as Van-Far lost 37-14 to its district foe after being outscored 21-6 in the second half. Brandon Eoff ran for 162 yards on 21 carries, punching in both touchdowns.

Gibson said Van-Far trailed 16-8 at halftime after a last-second touchdown by Crystal City (6-1) only for the deficit to grow quickly after the Hornets were successful on an onside kick in the second half. Van-Far couldn’t come up with the ball, and Crystal City took advantage with a touchdown to make it a three-possession lead.

“We played half of a game it seems like,” Gibson said. “I can take more responsibility and have them ready to play a full game. After they scored, we turned the ball and they scored again.”

Gibson said he felt like Crystal City was beatable, despite the Hornets going in with one loss, so he thought the Indians “didn’t give it their all.” He said Van-Far missed tackles against a run-oriented offense, which helped Crystal City control the game and run the clock out after gaining the big lead.

Van-Far (1-6, 1-4 EMO) resembles Crystal City in how it runs the ball to control the game, Gibson said, so there lies the reason he thought the Indians could have won and can if the teams meet again in districts.

Gibson said he expects a competitive game Friday for Van-Far’s homecoming against Eastern Missouri Conference and district foe Louisiana (1-6, 1-4 EMO), who lost 22-14 at home to Montgomery County in Week 7.

“I think it’ll be a good game. It should be,” Gibson said. “Their record is the same as ours. We’re glad to be back at home after being away for three games.”

Russellville fundamentals, system executed in Paris’ 38-0 loss

Paris’ offense took a couple more hits Friday night.

The Coyotes lost their homecoming game 38-0 to undefeated Russellville (7-0), marking their fifth straight loss. Running back Gatlin Fountain, who had Paris’ lone touchdown last week at Fayette, had to be taken out after hurting his shoulder and offensive lineman Brandon Callison’s status is also uncertain after leaving Friday’s game.

Head coach Joseph Utterback said Callison is the team’s “utility knife” because he has played offensive line, safety and linebacker and every other position except quarterback in his high school career. Fountain is also a big piece in Paris’ offense so that just adds to the frustration Utterback and the team are having in his first season as head coach.

“Our team knows we are doing a lot of good things, and our coaches know it, and our managers know it, and the people that are here every day know it,” Utterback said. “Every time I talk to a parent, I think they’re seeing the culture stuff. It’s headed in the right direction, but I wish we could’ve had a more competitive game for our kids.”

Utterback said despite the lopsided results and little offense this season – with every week but the 36 points at Missouri Military Academy resulting in a scoring output under 20 points – he and his team are making progress and want those results to “show up on the scoreboard.”

On Friday night, Russellville was the latest challenge as the Indians seemed to have bought in the third-year of the program led by Tim Rulo.

“Russellville is very fundamentally sound,” Utterback said. “They do a lot of the little things right. They run a double-wing offense, which is a balanced offense. They do a few things and they do them very well. Their kids have been playing football for a few years, but they basically have been playing in the same system for the entire time.”

Utterback said the Indians ran the dive and sweep running plays well, which draws safeties in so they can throw over the top of defenses. Russellville did just that early for a touchdown pass against Paris, Utterback said, and during the whole game, the Indians kept it simple with a couple formations.

Paris (1-6, 0-4 L&C) travels to Lewis and Clark Conference foe Scotland County (0-6, 0-3 L&C), who lose 38-0 at Westran in Week 7.

Look for the full stories in the Oct. 12, 2022, edition  of The Mexico Ledger and on the website on the same day.