Mexico flies past Marshall late 21-14

Mexico made it an exciting victory for its first one this season.

The Bulldogs had many step into larger roles on offense this year and those players played part in a 21-14 win at North Central Missouri Conference foe Marshall on Friday night.

Mexico (1-3, 1-0 NCMC) has been using multiple players at quarterback so far this season and its passing game seemed to help the team against the Owls (1-3, 0-1 NCMC), head coach Steve Haag said. The Bulldogs finished with 112 yards through the air as Charlie Fisher ran for a touchdown but also threw the game-winning 40-yard strike to PJ Perkins, who debuted after accumulating enough practices. This completed a comeback after Mexico trailed 14-6 after the third quarter.

“We were able to pass the ball better,” Haag said. “We kept them off-balance with our run game and passing game. We put a little pressure on them to play a little pass instead of the run. In the end, that was probably the determining factor.”

Shantez Dorsey caught two passes for 72 yards, and Drew DeMint – 35 yards on 13 carries – ran for a touchdown to add to Mexico’s scoring. Fisher had all 112 yards through the air on 3-for-10 passing, Peyton Hoover ran for 42 yards on 10 carries and Perkins added 67 yards with seven carries.

After Perkins’ touchdown, Haag said Mexico was able to run out the clock with about three and a half minutes left in the game after recovering a Marshall fumble, taking the ball as far as the Marshall five-yard line. The Bulldogs’ defense turned the Owls over at other times like when interceptions were grasped by Ashton Belcher and Korbyn Dorsey. Marshall finished with 127 yards rushing and 94 yards passing.

“In the first half, offensively, we didn’t look very good, but defensively, we looked really good,” Haag said.

Mexico hosts Class 4 No. 6 and conference foe Hannibal (3-1, 1-0 NCMC) at 7 p.m. Friday.

Lady Bulldog tennis places first in Osage Tournament

Katie Gooch and Mexico girls tennis won many matches on Saturday.

The Lady Bulldogs finished first at the Osage Tournament, winning the prize out of four schools with 18.5 points to stay ahead of Willow Springs’ 12 points. Katie Gooch won all three of her matches to take first in singles, and Lani Blair and Lucy Gleeson went 2-1 to take second in doubles so the three came away with medals.

Gooch won by scores of 8-0, 8-0 and 8-3, and Blair and Gleeson won their first two matches 8-1 and 8-5 before losing the first-place match 8-2 to Willow Springs. 

Katie Gooch has won a lot of matches this season and this was no exception as she finished on top in the tournament,” head coach Kim Costley said. “All six Lady Bulldogs played well and we are seeing some very smart play from our doubles teams. We have had a grueling schedule, but the experience gained from those matches is paying off.”

Jyllian Whitworth finished third in singles with the scores of 8-4, 3-8 and 6-1. Alice Eggen and Daida Herrera-Garcia were fourth in doubles after winning their first match 8-4 but then losing 8-1 and 6-4.

“We had three girls new to this tournament this year,” Costley said. “There is only one singles bracket and 1 doubles bracket in this tournament so when first time players attend, it’s sometimes intimidating. Everyone won their first match so that means two groups upset another team.”

Mexico soccer plays to draws for second place at Moberly Invitational

Mexico boys soccer stayed out of the losing column on Friday and Saturday.

Mexico, Missouri Military Academy at Moberly Invitational Photo Gallery

The Bulldogs finished 1-0-2 in the red division of the Moberly Invitational, earning second place just behind Smith-Cotton JV and its identical 1-0-2 record. Mexico lost the tiebreaker — Smith-Cotton earned an extra point for a shutout — after defeating Boonville 4-2 on Friday and then playing to ties at 1 with Smith-Cotton JV and Moberly JV on Saturday.

Head coach Bill Gleeson said Mexico (4-4-2) had its opportunities, particularly against Smith-Cotton as one more goal would have been the difference in the weekend. The Bulldogs outshot the Tigers 15-10 in the first half and 22-16 in the game, breaking away behind the defense several times. Brendan McKeown booted a goal in from midfield in the 13th minute prior Mexico scoring an own goal in the 30th minute as Gleeson said the grass at Central Christian College of the Bible was different.

“Finishing is what killed us,” Gleeson said. “We should’ve won easily. It was just a little different playing on taller grass. Usually, you like a little bit shorter grass because the ball rolls slowly (on tall grass) and it’s more difficult to get off your foot. We should’ve been able to come out that second half and adjust.”

The second half was much better for Mexico on Friday on Moberly High School’s turf field against Boonville, a district opponent the Bulldogs have already defeated this season. Mexico was victorious again after scoring three goals in the second half to come back from a 2-1 deficit at halftime. Jesus Garcia scored twice, and Gage and Grant Walker each scored once against Boonville, and Nathan Rodriguez scored the goal against Moberly.

Gleeson said Mexico was shaky in the first half of its first game of the tournament but locked things down later.

“We were possessing most of the second half and not really turning the tide,” Gleeson said. “We were given chances and we capitalized on those chances. Communication, staying in our formation and making those good passes is what helped us.”

Mexico (0-4 NCMC) hosted North Central Missouri Conference foe Hannibal (7-2, 2-0 NCMC) on Tuesday before playing at Fatima (2-3) at 5 p.m. Monday.

Ramsey, Bickell medal for Mexico cross country in Fulton

Two Mexico runners had a nice Saturday in Fulton.

Maggie Ramsey and Hunter Bickell each medaled at the Fulton Invitational as Ramsey ran to a 14th-place time of 23:08.40 in the girls 5,000 meters and Bickell was 18th in the boys’ race with a time of 18:41.05.

Alexandra Terry had the next best girls finish of 49th. For the boys, Tyler Grimes was 27th, and Brady McCoy was 30th.

Lady Bulldogs split doubleheader at Webster Grove, Teel sets table

Mexico softball came close to two victories against the same team on Saturday.

The Lady Bulldogs split a Saturday doubleheader at Webster Groves, losing 8-7 on a walkoff in the first game and then leading the second game 9-2 in the fourth inning prior to  it being called because of Webster Grove injury.

Brooke Teel was 5-for-7 with five stolen bases and three RBI from the top of Mexico’s lineup. Maddy Feger was 3-for-7 with four RBI, Jo Thurman was 4-for-7 with two RBI, and Hannah Loyd had a two-RBI home run in the second game.

Webster Grove scored five runs in the final two innings ro recover from a 7-3 deficit in the first game as Mexico allowed a three-RBI home run in the sixth inning before being walked off in the seventh inning.

The Lady Bulldogs scored in all four innings played in Game 2 before the contest had to be called early. Loyd hit her home run in a three-run first inning and then Feger and Thurman added a RBI single and double in a three-run second inning.

Mexico played at North Central Missouri Conference foe Marshall on Monday before going to conference rival Moberly on Tuesday and competing in the California Turf War tournament on Friday and Saturday.