Missouri Military Academy was far from full strength Friday night.

In a week the Colonels dressed 14 players, they lost 42-6 at Clinton in what was a battle of winless teams going into the night. The game had to be called in the third quarter, head coach Robert Rosenbaum said, as too many of MMA’s players sustained injuries.

Colton Kahle picked off Clinton (1-5) and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown but was taken out due to knee and head issues. Quarterback Gabriel Canonico will most likely enter concussion protocol after slamming down on the turf field. Defensive lineman Seydina Diop was out for the second straight week with an injury, and senior lineman Brett Miles has been dealing with a stinger in his neck.

Rosenbaum said this isn’t a comprehensive list but enough to show MMA’s roster has been in flux this season. One of the players that was injured Friday had just joined the team a few days ago.

“We were down a lot of bodies,” Rosenbaum said. “I felt like we gave the best effort we could. It was 42-6 and then we started taking substantial injuries. I had no other quarterbacks and we were down to 11 players. So probably 12 minutes into the third quarter, we got the kids off the field and called the game due to injuries.”

MMA continued to have its center problems, with the latest issue Friday night being the kid at center having to be moved to running back due to the roster shortage.

“We work on the (center) position tirelessly at practice, so the kids can do it,” Rosenbaum said. “For some reason, when they get under stress or they get in a game, they’re not always successful at it.”

Rosenbaum said kicker Zach Tilleck is one positive from the night as he did a nice job kicking off and was even making 45-50 yards field goals in warm-ups. The Colonels just need to develop a team so his services can be used more.

All of these issues cropped up last week in MMA’s 26-6 loss at home to Confluence Academy Prep Charter, Rosenbaum said, making what could have been a more competitive game into what seems to be the status quo for the team this year. Several key injuries and some failed blocking on the line were factors in the loss.

“We competed with them, but we should have played better with them,” Rosenbaum said. “The biggest thing this year is just the lack of players and the age of my players and then the injury bug gets you. If you tell me I’m going to have 8-9 guys that go down with pretty much season-ending injuries, that’s unheard of in all my years.”

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The rest of MMA's football season has been canceled, as was announced Wednesday. Athletic director Brian Meny released a letter to school's families and to The Mexico Ledger that reads:

Dear MMA families,

Due to injuries and low numbers, the Colonels football season unfortunately must come to an early close. Without enough players to safely play, we must cancel the remainder of the season’s games. Closing a season early is a significant disappointment, and we have done everything we can to avoid this action. However, adversity outside of our control changed the course of our season.

I have worked closely with the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) to ensure that we properly ended the football season and that we meet all requirements for the rest of our athletic programs to remain in good standing. I have also personally communicated with the other football teams we were scheduled to play.

I want to recognize our football coaching staff and players for the hard work and effort they have put in this fall. Athletics gives opportunities to rise up when faced with challenge — to grow stronger not only physically, but also in leadership and character. Through athletics, our cadets learn perseverance and the importance of continuously striving to improve, no matter the score or circumstances. Our football players have done this and will continue to do so. For the rest of the fall season, the football team will continue to practice, working on skill development during the regular athletic practice time.

On Oct. 18, we will honor our football, cross country and soccer senior cadets with senior night during the home soccer game against Boonville. Varsity will play at 5 p.m., followed by JV, and our seniors will be honored before the two games, starting at 4:30 p.m.

The rest of our fall sports programs are going strong, with soccer ranked 7th in the state and several of our Colonels swimmers achieving times that qualify them to compete at state. This weekend, we look forward to hosting the state JROTC Raiders meet on campus and watching our Raiders compete. Our cross country team has been running well, with a couple of our runners among the state's best. We look forward to seeing these athletes compete at districts and hopefully advance to the next level. We are also extremely proud of our middle school athletes who have been competing this fall in cross country and soccer. They have been working hard, and we look forward to these cadets becoming Colonels JV and varsity players in the next couple of years.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 573-581-1776, ext. 423.

Sincerely,

Brian Meny

Athletic Director