A close first half gave Mexico High School football fans reason to believe their Bulldogs might be able to duplicate last fall’s 2-0 start, but NCMC rival Kirksville had other ideas.
The Tigers rushed for 2 touchdowns in the third quarter and passed for 2 more in the fourth to roll to a 33-7 varsity final Friday night at Hawthorne Heights, leaving both teams with 1-1 records.
Whereas both squads racked up points the previous weekend, Mexico winning and Kirksville losing, the zeroes on the scoreboard lasted until the 4:23 mark of the second period when Kirksville quarterback Cody King took the ball in from the 1-yard line to cap a 46-yard drive. The Tigers had threatened on their previous possession, only to give up the ball inside the Mexico 10 when the Bulldogs’ Nathan Hagedorn recovered a fumble.
Limited to 3-plays-and-out most of the contest, that’s the way the Bulldogs opend the second half and Kirksville was quick to take command. Starting near midfield, the Tigers needed only 4 plays to reach the end zone with King breaking a 23-yard dash to the right side, doubling the Kirksville lead to 14-0 at the 8:29 mark of the third period with the help of another Travis Mundhal PAT.
After the Bulldogs came up just short of a first down on their next series, Kirksville took over at the Mexico 43 and King directed the Tigers back into the end zone with a weaving run from 15 yards out with 3:40 left in the quarter, making it 20-0.
Finding more success through the air than on the ground in their opener, the Tigers soon switched gears in their new shotgun/spread formation, completing the scoring with a pair of TD passes in the final period. King threw a 27-yarder with 5:38 to play to make it 27-0 and a toss by backup QB Trevor Allinson went 62 yards with 1:19 on the clock.
Mexico avoided a shutout thanks to a QB sneak by reserve Regan Mudd and Hagedorn’s conversion kick with 24.7 seconds left. That was set up by a 51-yard run by Jermaine Thompson to the Kirksville 1.
Kirksville posted 26 points in the second half for the second straight outing. The game was the league opener for both teams.
The Bulldogs will complete a stretch of 3 straight home games Friday against new NCMC member Boonville.
The Pirates bowed to state-ranked Fulton 14-12 in their Week 2 action.