The moment wasn’t too big for Gage Walker when he stepped back for a penalty kick on Sept. 5.

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Well, moments. 

The Mexico senior converted on two penalty kicks to tie the game with two minutes left in regulation and to win the game with about nine seconds left in overtime in the Bulldogs’ 3-2 overtime victory over North Central Missouri Conference and district rival Fulton (0-2). A nine-game losing streak against Fulton was broken and gave Mexico (2-0) its first win over its arch rival since 2020.

"It's a 50/50 or wherever the keeper goes," Walker said about his penalty kicks. "I made it that side one time so might as well do it again. Probably didn't think I'm going there again so I'm just going to hammer it."

Walker wasn’t in high school at that time but came through in a big way to help Mexico win its home opener. He secured a hat trick on his game-winner and even his first goal in the 19th minute tied the game at 1.

“I really set myself up in a good position for the boys,” Walker said. “We really work on trying to play that ball over the top and really hammer the defense. We have a lot of speed. Jesus (Garcia) is really fast. Oscar (Alvarez) is really fast. I’m pretty fast myself. If we can outpace the team, we can score.”

Walker spoke about how Mexico created more scoring opportunities in the second half after many of its chances stuck around the sides of the net. He said the ball movement was better in the second half, but the Bulldogs didn’t make any of those over-the-top passes that took advantage of the team’s speed.

Head coach Bill Gleeson the team seemed more energized in the second half following the earlier start time with warmer weather conditions. There was plenty left in the tank for Mexico to take some shots down the field and get behind the Fulton defense.

"We talked about how we were a lot faster than those defenders," head coach Bill Gleeson said about the second-half emphasis on speed. "We needed to have quicker passes so they could get those scores in, either the dribble pass or kick it over the top so that we could run and get the ball to make those scores."

The Bulldogs were called for being offsides multiple times in the second half as they continued to stay aggressive down field. Walker’s breakaway attempt was whistled dead on such a call with seconds left in regulation. Gleeson didn’t agree with that specific call, but Mexico did enough to gain the advantage.

Walker was given his first penalty kick opportunity in the 78th minute after Fulton was called for a trip. He readied for another in the final seconds of the 10-minute overtime period when he was taken down after dashing past the defense.

“Gage is pretty much my most solid PK taker, like most consistent,” Gleeson said. “I was pretty confident he could put them in, but emotions get going and the pressure is on and anybody could miss. It was a big thing and one of those senior moments where he could calm himself down and take the shot.”

Luke Holland came in this season as one of Fulton’s key returning scorers and scored both goals for the Hornets. He put Fulton ahead 2-1 in the 61st minute after Mexico failed multiple times to clear the ball around the penalty box.

Still, Fulton’s roster looked different after losing many key seniors. Gleeson said he thought Mexico could be victorious if it played their game.

“We played our type of soccer,” Gleeson said. “We worked on rotations in the midfield. We really wanted to dominate the midfield. At times, we did it a really good time, but at times, we were lax tonight on that. That’s what we’ll really work on going forward.”

Among Mexico’s previous nine losses to Fulton, it lost by a margin of at least six goals in each of the prior four meetings. The Bulldogs’ season last year ended in districts after an 11-0 loss to Fulton.

Gleeson said he thought Mexico could have played even better to avoid overtime but wants his team to enjoy this win that hasn’t happened in their high school careers. Walker agreed and is eager play Fulton again this season and another time after that in districts.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Walker said. “They lost so many seniors last year. It feels so good to beat them.”