Mexico had a ton of leadership at positions like quarterback, running back and lineman but will be having new boys step up in those spots.

The Bulldogs had several seniors earn all-conference honors at those positions and will be expecting much out of their younger overall roster of 45 with six seniors.

Head coach Steve Haag said it is difficult to replace experience because something is learned on every snap. Kyler Benne takes over as varsity quarterback after playing it for two years, and boys like Brysen Hammers, Connor Fisher and Marshall Ball expect to take more carries, for example.

“The key to this is how quickly we can get into game shape where we can play a full four quarters and that becomes some of the worry a little bit,” Haag said. “That’s why we try to get a lot of people ready to go. Also, we’ve become more physical with some of these guys getting older, but how physical can we become because we’re going to play physical teams.”

Haag said the first three games against Centralia, Fulton and Monroe City should be physical games because of them being running teams. There might be some growing pains considering this and the younger team, but this year’s group has the talent to play competitive games like last year’s 6-5 finish.

Benne is healthy now after dealing with injury, Haag said, and isn’t afraid to run the ball at the defense. He’ll have a group of four to five backs to lighten the load, including Kael Smith and Brenden Wilson. D’Naz Smith, Presley Goff and Quincee Williams could factor in, too. James Matthews and Logan Hilderman are options at wide receiver and defensive secondary.

“Our backs will probably rotate quite a bit, and they’ve got some big shoes to fill with (Drew) DeMint and (Korbyn) Dorsey being gone,” Haag said. “If they do some things right, they have talent where they can make their mark. The one thing we all want them to be consistent at is blocking, but as runners, all of them do something a little bit different.”

Haag said the line brings back returners like Karson Rowe, Travis Shramek and Kale Leverett but will have some new faces there. He said the unit has looked pretty good so far.

The defense averaged less than 30 points allowed for the second straight season. Haag said this year’s unit starts with a “pretty sound” front with Rowe, Shramek and Leverett. There will be returning linebackers like Kael Smith, Brenden Wilson and John Kelly, but Mexico doesn’t have as much depth there, according to Haag.

“We had a little bend but don’t break kind of mentality, which kept us in the games,” Haag said. “We’ve got to get off the field defensively, and we’ve got to keep the ball offensively.”

Mexico still plays former North Central Missouri Conference rivals like Marshall, Hannibal, Moberly and Kirksville this year. It also hosts Rolla and visits Bowling Green as the new additions to the schedule.

Haag said he knows the opponents have great coaches and players, so they could be hard-fought games. He thinks Mexico has the team to play competitively this season.

“The long-term goal is we need to be a much better football team in Week 10 than we were in Week 1,” Haag said. “If you’re better in Week 10 than you were in Week 1, then you have a chance to win any type of game.”