Football

Paris can’t score early, hurt from deep in 33-13 loss to Grandview

There were several that could be assigned blame after Paris’ loss Saturday, but the Coyotes weren’t pointing fingers.

If they were pointed anywhere, everyone was pointing at themselves as Paris were defeated 33-13 by Grandview in Joseph Utterback’s first game as head coach. The Coyotes converted on fourth down 1-of-6 times after being forced to go for it after falling behind 19-0 at halftime.

Senior quarterback Leo Bounds threw for two touchdowns and had two interceptions on 13-for-25 for 182 yards passing, and senior Owen Totten picked up five sacks. Sophomore and reigning Lewis and Clark all-conference running back Gatlin Fountain rushed for 81 yards on 12 carries, and junior Colton Kendrick caught seven passes for 103 yards.

Utterback, who was an assistant coach at Paris for five years prior to this year, said Grandview did a nice job adjusting to Paris’ offensive game plan early after the Coyotes started near midfield or in Eagle territory on every drive in the first half, initially starting at Grandview 46. Paris was held to 106 yards rushing.

“We got pretty excited about the first drive,” Utterback said. “We were trying to run the ball outside. We thought they were weak in the flats. They were able to take that away pretty quickly.”

Totten was one of three Coyotes who earned spots on the all-conference team last season, with most of the selections being dominated by the trio of Fayette, Marceline and Harrisburg that combined for 31 wins last season. He was recognized as a running back and a linebacker.

On Saturday, Totten was still creating pressure on defense but was trying to allay pressure on offense as a lineman. Utterback said Totten was a “beast running back” last year so it seemed to make sense to add him to the offensive line.

“He was just a monster at running back, but we knew we had to buff our O-line,” Utterback said. “We want to put some leadership there, and he and (junior) Brandon Callison both have stepped up. It doesn’t matter who you have at running back. If you got a good O-line, they’re going to open up holes. If you got a beast running back and no O-line, that’s a problem. Luckily, we got some pretty good running backs too.”

Paris will try to get Utterback his first head coaching win and its first win of 2022 when it travels to Mexico for a 7 p.m. Friday game against Missouri Military Academy (0-1), who lost 49-6 at Russellville in Week 1.

Softball

Centralia bats hungry second day of William Chrisman Tournament 

Centralia softball might have lost its first three games of the William Chrisman Tournament but made sure it wasn’t losing another.

The Lady Panthers dropped its season opener Friday in Independence 8-5 to Class 5 Raymore-Peculiar and then its second of the day 13-5 to Oak Grove. On Saturday, Centralia lost 7-6 to Pleasant Hill before defeating host William Chrisman 22-2 and then Harrisonville 15-0.

The 22 runs against William Chrisman is the most the Lady Panthers (2-3) have scored in a single game since a 22-4 victory Sept. 17, 2020, against Brookfield. They also scored 29 runs that season in a shutout win against St. Michael the Archangel.

Seniors Madison Adkisson and Jozelynn Bostick combined for seven RBI — with Adkisson having four — in a perfect 6-for-6 game at the plate for the duo. Adkisson collected nine RBI in the five games while Bostick had eight during that span.

Centralia  plays in its home opener at 6:45 p.m. Monday against Macon, who won two out of four games Friday and Saturday at the Lead Off Classic in Troy.

Mexico walks to seventh place in Sullivan Tournament

Mexico softball hung around Friday and Saturday in the Sullivan Back to School Tournament.

Four of the Lady Bulldogs games were against Class 4 teams, which took them to the seventh-place game Saturday against Windsor. After surrendering the lead in the top of the fifth inning, senior Lexie Willer drew the third walk of the bottom half of the inning to bring home the winning run. 

Mexico finished the weekend 3-2 after losing 5-2 to Helias, winning 13-2 against Webster Groves and edging Pacific 6-5 in pool play on Friday and then dropping a 6-1 decision to Capital City in its first game of bracket play — and fourth straight Class 4 team matchup — on Saturday before capping the weekend with a 7-6 victory against Windsor.

Senior Abby Bellamy drove in five RBI to lead the team through the five games with a home run, Willer added four RBI, and senior Kierstan Epperson and freshman Hannah Loyd each had three runs driven in. Loyd hit two home runs on Friday to begin her high school career along with three runners caught stealing from behind the plate.

Mexico opens its North Central Missouri Conference schedule at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Marshall prior to the home opener at 5 p.m. Wednesday against Bowling Green (2-2).

Van-Far softball takes one of three at Hallsville tournament

It was difficult for Van-Far softball to score runs at times Saturday in the Hallsville Tournament.

The Lady Indians lost two of three games — an 8-2 decision to Westran and 3-0 shutout to Salisbury — and busted open with a 14-2 victory against Sturgeon. Senior Mara Jensen led the team with five RBI, tallying all of them against Sturgeon.

Jensen picked up two of those RBI on swing in the first inning against Sturgeon, hitting a two-run home run for a 3-0 Van-Far lead that turned into 4-0 on a RBI single by sophomore Dalana Gay. Jensen finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored 

Sturgeon had five errors that led to seven unearned runs, with two of them occurring in the five-run second inning for Van-Far.

Carmen Wilburn drew three walks and scored three runs from the leadoff spot while senior Madelynn Caldwell scored four runs on a 1-for-3 day, reaching on three errors. Gay pitched four innings with six hits, two runs and two strikeouts.

Van-Far (1-2) opens its Eastern Missouri Conference and home schedule at 5 p.m. Thursday against North Callaway.

Community R-6 softball hits too late in 4-2 loss at South Callaway

Community R-6’s offense had something going in the seventh inning during Friday’s season opener at South Callaway, but it wasn’t enough.

The Lady Trojans were limited to three hits — compared to South Callaway’s 10 — with all of them going for doubles. Senior Sarah Angel, junior Paige Painter and freshman Jocelyn Curtis all picked up two bags for Community. Painter’s and Curtis’ both happening in the seventh inning.

Painter was also in the circle for the Lady Trojans, going the full six innings while allowing four runs and three walks. South Callaway’s McKenzie Laughlin struck out 11 and allowed three hits in seven innings.

Community opens its Central Activities Conference and home schedule at 5 p.m. Monday against Glasgow, who they’ve beaten by an average of 16.5 runs in the previous four meetings.

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