Football

Thunderbirds rally off injury, pull away late 30-12 vs Louisiana

The Thunderbirds were there for each other Friday night against Louisiana.

North Callaway hosted the Bulldogs, defeating them 30-12 to earn its first Eastern Missouri Conference victory this season. The Thunderbirds outscored Louisiana 16-6 in the fourth quarter, with all of those points happening after around the six-minute mark.

Around that time, junior running back Riley Humphrey – who had 119 yards rushing on 16 carries for the bulk of the team’s season-high 273 yards on the ground – had to spend about 30 minutes lying on the field. He was stretchered off to an ambulance by the field, with North Callaway ahead 14-12.

The Thunderbirds were ahead 14-0 after the first quarter before encountering a “lull,” head coach Kevin O’Neal said, that saw the offense go empty-handed on five straight drives since senior AJ Siegel ran it in from two yards in the first quarter. They had three turnovers on downs, an interception and a lost fumble. After seeing their teammate on his back for so long, O’Neal said the Thunderbirds rallied together to close the game strong.

“(Riley) was running the ball hard with an attitude,” O’Neal said. “He got hurt and went down. I saw our team respond in a positive way. We’ve talked all year about playing for the guy next to you as much as you play for yourself. I think they took it to heart those last two drives.”

Junior Tucker Wright took all the handoffs after the injury, finishing 65 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Braydn O’Neal pounded in the touchdown to cap a 14-play, 70-yard drive for his second rushing touchdown and give him 85 yards on 13 carries. After Louisiana fumbled the kickoff to give North Callaway a short field on the 34-yard line, Wright ran it from four yards for the 30-12 lead with about a minute left.

Kevin O’Neal said Wright stepped up in a big way in the fourth quarter, contributing to the strategy of running up the middle North Callaway employed late in the game.

“Tucker stepped up,” O’Neal said. “We talk about it all the time: Take advantage of an opportunity when you get it. Tucker took advantage of his opportunity. I could tell when I looked at him that he was ready to take over there at running back, and he did a great job for us.”

North Callaway goes back on the road on Friday to Mark Twain (2-2, 1-1 EMO), who won 50-18 at Montgomery County in Week 4. 

Mexico regains focus in 35-14 win vs Marshall

Mexico was confident Friday’s game against Marshall would be a victory but ultimately weren’t overconfident.

After shooting ahead 20-0 at halftime, the Bulldogs closed out North Central Missouri Conference foe Marshall 35-0 for the third straight year behind a solid running attack and defense. Mexico had touchdown runs from Andrew Runge, Anthony Shivers, Matthew McCurdy and quarterback Ty Sims.

Head coach Steve Haag said there was a time in the second half Mexico fell off after moving the ball exactly the way it wanted to in the option offense.

“I thought we were able to do what we wanted to do offensively,” Haag said. “I thought we lost a little bit of focus. We had a penalty, then we have another penalty, then a sack. It just seems like we just mentally didn’t finish strong that first half.

“I think our kids knew we were better than Marshall, and we had a little bit of a hangover from Odessa. It was a tough game – our guys played all four quarters. Now it’s like, ‘We’re winning this one fairly easy.’ We let off a little bit.”

Mexico (2-2, 1-0 NCMC) travels to Class 4 No. 10 Hannibal (2-2, 1-0 NCMC) after the Pirates won 48-0 at Fulton in Week 4.

Holes open for Centralia runners in 40-8 win at Brookfield

Centralia’s ground game has been getting better as more holes have opened.

The Panthers’ offensive line blocked in front of a cadre of runners that amassed a season-high 309 yards on 50 carries for a season-best 455 yards of total offense. Kyden Wilkerson led the way for the fourth straight week, running for 122 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, but three other Panthers averaged at least five yards per carry.

Quarterback Cullen Bennett had 146 yards on seven completions through the air but also ran for 93 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Breylen Whisler had the other touchdown for Centralia in his 36 yards on six carries, and Brayden Shelton finished with 54 yards on 11 carries.

Head coach Tyler Forsee said Bennett had his “best game running the ball” at quarterback, and the offensive line stacked with six players – with Jack Romine or Jesse Shannon functioning as a moving halfback – opened up the holes that several players were able to find.

“Our ground game looked good right from the get-go,” Forsee said. “We’ve got a good group of guys (on the offensive line) that do a good job of talking, communicating, and getting their blocks done. No matter who we put back there, they’re looking good running the ball.”

Centralia (4-0, 2-0 CCC) hosts Class 1 No. 1 Monroe City (4-0, 2-0 CCC), who defeated South Shelby 46-8 at home in Week 4 and hasn’t allowed more than 13 points in a game this season. The Clarence Cannon Conference foe and reigning district champion Monroe City defeated Centralia last season 44-6, so Forsee knows it will be a tough task for the Class 2 No. 6 Panthers.

Canonico runs long way for 3 TDs, MMA loses 30-26 seesaw battle vs Agape

Missouri Military Academy believes it’s starting to click.

The Colonels lost 30-26 at home on Thursday night to Agape Boarding School following a week they had to cancel a home game against Knob Noster because of injuries, but they scored four touchdowns in a competitive game against the Rhinos.

Quarterback Gabriel Canonico had a mixed bag sort of game, running for three of the touchdowns that totaled around 187 yards and throwing three interceptions to account for most of the team’s four turnovers. MMA owned a 20-8 lead deep into the fourth quarter prior to a wild fourth quarter that saw three lead changes.

Head coach Robert Rosenbaum said many of the Colonels had to recover from injuries in the two weeks since its 36-0 Week 2 home loss to Paris and were still not at 100 percent Thursday. He said Agape did a nice job with its running game as the Rhinos didn’t have to throw the ball all that much, even employing a wildcat-style offense with running back Caleb Newell taking snaps. This presented problems when players had to come out hence rearrange the depth chart.

“We’re playing ironman football,” Rosenbaum said. “Last week, we had to forfeit a game because we only had 12 kids. This week, we had 15 and two of them are still on the mend. We had to put some kids in some spots that had never played there. One kid that we put in at defensive end, he had never played there. As soon as they recognized that, they took advantage of it and it took him a minute to get adjusted to it.”

Rosenbaum said lineman Seydina Diop was “all heart” as he was hurt during the game but refused to be taken off the field. Diop is usually a defensive end but was forced to move to the line interior, ranking up nine tackles regardless.

MMA (0-4) hosts Confluence Prep Academy Charter (0-3), who lost to Crystal City 42-0 in Week 4 and hasn’t scored any points this season.

Van-Far not strong enough in 64-6 loss vs Bowling Green

Van-Far didn’t appear to be physically strong Friday but maintained its mental strength.

The Indians were defeated 64-6 at home by Class 2 No. 7 Bowling Green as the Bobcats overpowered Van-Far most of the night, head coach Lucas Gibson said. Van-Far’s only points came on an 85-yard touchdown pass from Nikos Connaway to Cody Smith, who ran for the rest after about a 30-40 yard pass from Connaway, in the fourth quarter.

Gibson said it was important his players were mentally strong to fight all four quarters, which they did, but also had to maintain their health. Those are concerns for this season, but he and the Indians couldn’t help but view Bowling Green as an example of how good they can be if they keep working.

“The main thing is we came out healthy as we can,” Gibson said. “I think we’re banged up a little bit, but other than that, we’re healthy. I think it’s something to strive for to be that good someday because two-thirds of our guys are freshmen. They got to see what a good team looks like.”

Gibson said he wouldn’t be surprised if Bowling Green’s linemen use the weight room because the Bobcats are able to run the ball at will and will do so with effort until the whistle. He said some of those runs turn into 60-70 yard touchdowns from what he’s seen on film, but Van-Far was able to stamp those out at least.

This feeds into why Gibson is proud of his team after a lopsided affair like Friday. He noticed how the Indians fought for the whole game regardless of score, and Bowling Green’s coaches saw the same thing.

“We got a lot of feedback from Bowling Green’s coaches saying how tough they are for as young as they are,” Gibson said. “That was good to hear. I’m so proud of them.”

Van-Far (1-3, 1-2 EMO) will go into undefeated Eastern Missouri Conference foe Wright City (4-0, 2-0 EMO), who won 40-24 at South Callaway in Week 4. 

Paris beaten by big play, not composure in 36-0 loss at Harrisburg

After a passing onslaught last week, Paris’ secondary had another challenge Friday.

The Coyotes lost 36-0 at Harrisburg to go 0-2 in Lewis and Clark Conference matchups this season. The defense allowed three touchdown passes by Salisbury quarterback Ryan Binder in Week 3 and surrendered the same number this week to Trace Combs.

Combs threw for 109 yards on 6-for-9 passing, complementing a 210-yard day on the ground for Harrisburg. Paris was able to complete four passes for 34 yards and was limited to 118 yards of total offense. Drew Williams ran for 65 yards on 23 carries. Owen Totten finished with three sacks and three tackles for loss, Reid Ragsdale had 14 tackles and Gatlin Fountain added 11 tackles.

Head coach Joseph Utterback said while the previous two weeks have been losses for Paris, he thought the Coyotes were better mentally than in Week 3.

“I’m pretty happy with the way our kids responded,” Utterback said. “Our kids played with a lot of emotion (last week), but they did it in the wrong way. I was not very happy with their response. This week, I was very happy with their response. Not only they kept battling, but they did it in a positive way and they did it as teammates.”

Paris (1-3) returns home Friday looking to avenge a 35-0 loss to Westran (1-3, 0-1 L&C), who lost 21-18 at Fayette in Week 4, from last season.

Softball

Lady Trojans score season-high in 17-0 win at Sturgeon

Community R-6’s offense hit its stride again Friday.

The Lady Trojans scored a season-high 17 runs on 16 hits — five for extra bases — in a three-inning shutout victory at Central Activities foe Sturgeon. It is the most the Lady Trojans have scored since a 17-7 win Sept. 27 last season against Mark Twain and it’s their biggest shutout win since the 18-0 Sept. 2 victory against Hermann.

Six Lady Trojans finished with multiple hits, led by Brooklynn Glasgow’s 3-for-3 day with five RBI, Olivia Kuda’s 3-for-3 performance with three RBI, a triple and a double, and Sarah Angel’s 3-for-4 game with three RBI.

Jocelyn Curtis allowed one hit and one walk and struck out one in three innings.

Community scored five runs in the first inning and four runs in the second inning and then clinched the win with an eight-run third inning. Angel capped the frame with a three-RBI triple after swinging at the first pitch.

Community (5-7, 3-2 CAC) plays today in the Cairo Softball Tournament, facing La Plate at 8 a.m.

Look for the full stories in the Sept. 21, 2022, edition of The Mexico Ledger or on the website  on the same day.