Two key parts of Mexico football’s defense signed for college over the past week.

Daunte Cline Signing Photo Gallery

Peyton Hoover Signing Photo Gallery

First, senior Daunte Cline plans to play for William Woods University in Fulton as shown by a ceremony last Wednesday at Gary Filbert Court and then Hoover brought his family and friends to Gary Filbert Court on Monday to sign for Central Methodist University in Fayette. Both Cline and Hoover made the all-North Central Missouri Conference and Class 4 District 5 teams this past season.

Head coach Steve Haag said the defensive lineman Cline and linebacker Hoover have played many snaps since they were sophomores while putting in time on offense: Cline on the offensive line and Hoover as a running back. Haag said they definitely grew in the program after having so much “live action” experience and will miss their “leadership and dedication” the most.

“I know that many of our younger players have benefited from Daunte and Peyton's leadership,” Haag said. “That is something that is hard to replace, but hopefully, the younger players can pass down the lessons they learned from both to the new players.”

Haag said he is always excited when kids are able to “use football as a vehicle to earn a college degree” because it is difficult to earn a college degree but knows they can do it with the aforementioned dedication. Cline plans to major in accounting at William Woods while Hoover will study health sciences at Central Methodist.

Cline earned all-conference and all-district honors as a defensive lineman in each of the past two years and even was named as an all-conference offensive lineman also this past season. Despite missing the first five games due to injury, he shared the team lead this season with two sacks to follow having a team-high three sacks in the previous season along with 39 tackles and seven tackles for loss.

“The opportunity is there and I greatly appreciate that I have the opportunity to play college football,” Cline said. “Playing at the high level has always been my dream. I have been playing football since third-grade from pee-wee, then flag and then going up ever since.”

Cline said William Woods “felt like home” and that he “needed to be there” due to the “vibes” on campus and being close to home. He added he has family in Fulton so he is well-connected to the area.

“I’ve been playing so well from the hard work in the gym, outside of the gym staying healthy and just staying in shape,” Cline said. “I make sure I’m playing well and keep my mind on the game.”

Hoover led the team this past season with 81 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and two interceptions. In the previous season, he was an all-district linebacker after finishing with 64 tackles and two sacks and a team-high nine tackles for loss.

After starting his career playing flag football as a little kid, Hoover said he has wanted to play college football ever since he was seven years old. His father, Edward, played football at Missouri Western University.

“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time,” Hoover said. “My dad did it and I really want to follow in his footsteps. CMU has given me the opportunity I needed, and they have great coaches there.”

Hoover said he really likes Central Methodist head coach Dave Brown and is “understanding,” which means Hoover felt treated like “a person” rather than “just like another guy.” He added the facilities and food are also good and loves that the campus is close to home.

“I’ve worked really hard in the weight room and I worked really hard on the field,” Hoover said. “I thank God because I have been blessed by him and people around me that have brought me to this point too.”

“I have everybody at my side, and everybody from Mexico, they just love us,” Cline said. “It’s just a great community here.”

“It started freshman year when coach (Ken) Grubb was my defensive coordinator here, and he really showed me the fundamentals,” Hoover said. “When he left my junior year, coach (Travis) Simmons really built on to that, and it helped that we also had the guys. The older guys that were here too really built that foundation that I stand on now.”