Tigers hand Pirates rare NCMC loss by ending 26-year drought with one-point victory

Kirksville running back Jace Kent looks for running room as Hannibal defenders collapse on him during Friday night's North Central Missouri Conference game at Spainhower Field in Kirksville, Mo. | Shane Hulsey photo

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — For the Hannibal football team, it was a game of what-ifs. For Kirksville, it was a game of emphatic statements. The Tigers notched their first victory against the Pirates since 1998 by grinding out a 16-15 victory Friday at Spainhower Field. “We earned some football fans tonight,” Tigers coach Gregg Nesbitt said.…

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Photo gallery: Hannibal, Kirksville engage in old-fashioned slobberknocker in NCMC matchup

Hannibal defensive back Cameron Davis breaks up a pass intended for a Kirksville wide receiver during Friday night's North Central Missouri Conference game at Spainhower Field in Kirksville, Mo. | Shane Hulsey photo

To purchase digital downloads or prints of Muddy River Sports photos,click here to visit our SmugMug site. KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — Gregg Nesbitt and the Kirksville football team made history Friday night with the 16-15 victory over Hannibal, marking the Tigers’ first victory against their North Central Missouri Conference counterpart since 1998. Muddy River Sports Writer…

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Crim: Stage is set for NCMC title showdown when Hannibal football team heads to Kirksville

Hannibal quarterback Waylon Anders, left, and coach Jeff Gschwender lead the Pirates into this Friday's North Central Missouri Conference showdown at Kirksville with both teams undefeated in league play. | Mathew Kirby photo

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Both teams must still play two additional league games after this week, but the North Central Missouri Conference football title could be determined Friday night when Hannibal travels to Kirksville. Both Hannibal, 3-2 overall and ranked fourth in Missouri Class 4, and Kirksville, 5-0 and ranked sixth, are unbeaten after two NCMC…

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Crim: Book has yet to close on Nesbitt’s coaching career as new chapter unfolds with Tigers

Kirksville football coach Gregg Nesbitt, a Hannibal, Mo., native, talks to his team after a summer workout. The former Truman State University coach is in his first season coaching at Kirksville High School. | Photo courtesy Kirksville Tigers football program

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — It appeared the book was closing on a career spanning more than four decades when Gregg Nesbitt announced in February he was retiring after 14 seasons as the head football coach at Truman State University. Instead, another chapter is being written. One day after Nesbitt announced he was leaving Truman State as…

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Pirates rumble toward showdown with Spartans by dismantling another NCMC foe

Hannibal’s Kaiser McAfee, right, pressures Kirksville’s Ryder Lyons during Friday night’s North Central Missouri Conference game at Porter Stadium in Hannibal, Mo. | Mathew Kirby photo

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Another Friday night, another one-sided Hannibal football victory. The Pirates’ latest win, a 53-0 shellacking of Kirksville, was Hannibal’s fifth straight and played out in front of about 1,200 fans at Porter Stadium. Hannibal has outscored its last three opponents 191-13. All three games have been finished with a running clock in…

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Once Raiders’ offense gets rolling, stockpile of runs usually follows

Quincy Notre Dame freshman right-hander Jackson Connoyer delivers a pitch in the first inning Friday against Kirksville at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The way Herman Boone described his football team’s offense in “Remember the Titans” is an apt way to describe the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team’s offense. “It’s like Novocaine,” Boone said. “Just give it time, it always works.” In the case of the Raiders, just let them see enough pitches and they’ll always…

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