Bennett, Centralia fills in nicely in 26-21 win at Mexico

Cullen Bennett is not Beau Gordon but didn’t have to be Friday night.

According to Centralia football head coach Tyler Forsee, the 2022 Panthers are not the 2021 Panthers as they began this season with a 26-21 win at Mexico, avenging the 46-20 loss to the Bulldogs on their home field last year and giving the Panthers their second win in nine tries against Mexico.

The sophomore quarterback Bennett threw for two touchdowns on six-for-10 passing and 71 yards, and senior running back Kyden Wilkerson ran for two scores in the second half and 155 yards on 26 carries. Mexico ended the first half with a long touchdown run from senior Anthony Shivers to take the halftime lead, but the offense that collected 235 yards on the ground were nearly shutout in the second half.

Centralia ran for 217 yards and kept Mexico to 17 yards passing on one completion and 10 misses. Shivers led the Bulldogs with 87 yards on 11 carries, and senior Andrew Runge had 82 yards on 12 carries.

Forsee said Bennett put in the work in the offseason to prepare for his ascension to the starting role on the depth chart, following the graduation of the Clarence Cannon Conference offensive player of the year Gordon, and did well in his debut by being himself.

“Cullen is not Beau Gordon, and Beau Gordon is not Cullen,” Forsee said. “They’re different players. One thing Cullen did do is work his butt off all winter long. I bet he threw 3,000 passes from the end of last season to the beginning of this one.”

At 7 p.m,. Friday night, Centralia hosts Hallsville (1-0), and Mexico plays at Southern Boone (0-1)

North Callaway’s O’Neal scores four in 28-0 win at Westran

Kevin O’Neal not only was a proud coach his first game back with North Callaway but also a proud father.

His son, senior quarterback Braydn O’Neal, scored four touchdowns to lead the Thunderbirds to a 28-0 win at Westran, giving the Hornets’ offense its second straight shutout tracing back to the 38-0 season-ending loss to Highland.

North Callaway’s defense shut out a team for the first time since Sept. 17 when it shut out Van-Far 56-0 at home. The Thunderbirds forced three turnovers – three interceptions and two fumbles – and held Westran to five yards rushing on 22 carries.

O’Neal threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns while adding 29 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Kevin O’Neal said his son did a good job leading the offense even during times of struggles.

“His hard work in the offseason paid off tonight,” O’Neal said. “He made some passes that were pretty tough passes – changed a couple routes actually before the play.”

ONeal started the scoring with a 13-yard run with about three minutes left in the first quarter and threw his first touchdown pass to junior Sergio Moreno for 26 yards with about five minutes left in the first half.

At 7 p.m. Friday night, North Callaway hosts Macon (1-0). 

Van-Far beaten 44-22 by early mistakes, little gains in South Callaway

Van-Far gave South Callaway some extra yards early and couldn’t catch up.

After falling behind 15-0 following two turnovers, the Indians lost 44-22 Friday night against South Callaway in Mokane. Van-Far managed to come within six points at halftime but couldn’t stop the South Callaway offensive train in the second half.

Junior Nikos Connaway had 138 yards of total offense, with 82 happening on the ground along with his two rushing touchdowns. He threw for another as part of his 4-for-5 for 56 yards passing. Junior Gage Gibson and senior Brandon Eoff combined for 115 yards on 25 carries to give the Indians 200 rushing yards.

Head coach Lucas Gibson said Van-Far was starting six freshmen on offense and five on defense with its smaller roster so some fatigue is to be expected. The Indians didn’t do themselves any favors by fumbling the ball on their own 20-yard line in the first quarter, which led to a South Callaway touchdown. Another fumble on Van-Far’s second drive allowed the Bulldogs to play their methodical running game.

“They showed some grit. They’re young kids,” Gibson said. “A couple turnovers cost us big in the first quarter.”

Connaway and Gibson, who also led the team with 13.5 tackles, came up with interceptions in the first half to set up the Indians for a comeback.

Connaway threw a touchdown pass to sophomore Reece Culwell before being forced to use his legs later on. After receiving a bad snap on a punt, Connaway weaved around defenders for a 60-yard score to make it 22-16 South Callaway at halftime.

Van-Far scored one more touchdown on a long drive that was capped by a Connaway keeper for his third touchdown of the game and was set up by a  47-yard Eoff run.

At 7 p.m. Friday night, Van-Far plays at Russellville (1-0).

Missouri Military Academy ‘work in progress’ in 49-6 loss at Russellville

Head coach Robert Rosenbaum saw some good things Friday night in Russellville but knows there is much work to do.

Missouri Military Academy began its season with a 49-6 loss against the Indians, falling behind 35-0 and were out of rhythm early. The Colonels snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head on an early drive and threw two interceptions returned for touchdowns later in the game to seal it.

Rosenbaum said several areas will still need some work as Friday’s game felt like a jamboree based on how developed his players were. The center position is one that can’t be overlooked or the offense can get out of sync.

“We want to move the ball methodically and hope we get a few yards of play,” Rosenbaum said. “That put me in a position where we had to try some other stuff. We’re just quite right there with some of the blocking schemes.”

Russellville was ahead 35-0 with 30 seconds left in the first half, but Rosenbaum appreciates how his players didn’t seem to quit.

A couple of carries by Moss started a fourth quarter drive for MMA well, Rosenbaum said, before mixing up the handoffs with Canonico and sophomore Blake Krull and capping the drive with a Canonico run.

At 7 p.m. Friday night, MMA hosts Paris (0-1), who lost 33-13 at home Saturday against Grandview.

Check the Wednesday, August 31, 2022, edition of The Mexico Ledger for the full stories.