It was a season Mexico football won’t forget anytime soon.

Last year, the Bulldogs finished the season with a 10-3 record, advancing to a Class 3 semifinal game against St. Mary’s (St. Louis) before being eliminated.

Head coach Steve Haag said last year was a perfect storm for Mexico as the program had a great group of talented upperclassmen leading the way.

“When you are an older team, you’re more confident,” Haag said. “They’ve been around the program and understand what we’re trying to do. You have to have some (talented) dudes. You had Michael White on the field, you have Anthony Shivers, (Andrew) Runge really turned it on for us last year, Ty Sims has just gotten better each year at quarterback. Those types of impact players, they’re going to make you better.”

Haag said Mexico hasn’t diverted from its flex bone offense, which involves the senior quarterback Sims making a read and deciding who is in the best position to do damage. Having so many players capable of gaining big yardage per play helped Mexico tremendously a year ago and should again this year.

White graduated and committed to playing college football for NCAA Division II Quincy University after leading the Bulldogs in all-purpose yards with 145.8 per game. He led Mexico with 19 rushing touchdowns and was one of two to almost average 10 yards per carry at 9.8 per touch.

Shivers, who will be a senior this season, was right behind White with his 17 touchdowns on the ground while averaging 9.9 per carry. Fellow senior Runge finished with nine rushing touchdowns and a 5.8 average per carry. All three of those players were all-North Central Missouri Conference running backs last season and two of them will back.

“We are blessed to have people who are pretty athletic,” Haag said. “It’s not like, ‘Well, you give it to Anthony (every time) or whatever.’ That’s Ty’s decision. If a guy has a really good game, it’s probably because Ty made the right decision. Our running backs know that the fullback may have 150 yards one game and another running back may have 150 yards the next game.”

Sims, who averaged 5.5 yards per carry, can be counted on for his mind, Haag said, but Mexico will want to rely on his arm more this year to make the running attack even more potent. Bulldog quarterbacks averaged about two completions per game and handed it off more than 500 times for an average of seven yards per carry, which can be as good or better if defenses can be moved away from the line of scrimmage, Haag said.

The offensive line makes a difference in the passing game. Mexico has an all-state right guard in senior Kendyr Taylor returning, senior Owen Paden slotting in at center after an all-district season, and sophomore Daunte Cline at right tackle as “probably the biggest kid” on the team.

Cline is just one of a group of sophomores Haag has found impressive so far and could fill in the gaps of the seniors Mexico graduated after gaining some experience early. Wyatt Troesser, Hunter Cuno and Peyton Hoover are a few of the second-year Bulldogs that are expected to contribute.

“We really like our sophomore class,” Haag said. “They’re kind of like this senior class. The kids in that class are good athletes. As they get older and more mature, I think they’re going to be a big part of our team. They’re quality kids to have in the program. I thought the senior class was that way last year.”

The defense will have a similar stack form as in years past, Haag said, but will still feature different looks. Mexico is experimenting with Bulldogs in different spots and will continue to experiment when the season starts.

A few returning players in the unit will be senior all-state linebackers Morgan Grubb and Runge, who ranked first and second on the team with 111 and 92 tackles, respectively. Senior Matt McCurdy, who was at middle linebacker last season, will be one of the players moving, Haag said, as a few sophomores will have opportunities to play in the linebacker core.

“Those guys in the middle will have to get a little bit older just because we think we need to move some people to make us a little bit better,” Haag said. “I’m not really nervous. The guys we’re going to put out there have had experience, even though they might be in a little bit different position. Coach (Ken) Grubb does a great job for us.”

Haag said the team might “take our lumps” but thinks it can “hit the ground running” of where Mexico left off last season. Losing an all-state defensive back in White, who had 84 tackles and five interceptions, and an all-state defensive lineman in Deacon Haag, who had 22 tackles for loss and seven sacks, will definitely hurt.
Mexico has a good collection of players to replace them, Haag said. It’s just a matter of finding what works.

“If leaving them there makes us better, makes them better, we probably need to do it,” Haag said. “Some guys are going to have to know a couple positions just so we can have different options as we go into Week 1 and throughout.”

The Bulldogs will begin the season at home Aug. 26 against Centralia, who they defeated 46-20 last season, and know to have some success this season, they have to try to be better than they were last year.

“I think the goal for this season is we have to try to keep the bar high,” Haag said. “Last year was a good year. I think everybody enjoyed it and would like to repeat it. We know what we need to do, and the guys know what we need to do.”