Bulldogs honored at postseason awards

The Mission High School football team had three players named to the Class C, 8-man All-conference football team.

Of the three players recognized, Bulldogs’ RB Gus Bosley was named to the All-State Class C, 8-man football team in Mission’s inaugural season as a member of Class C. Last season, the Bulldogs were a member of the Class B, 11-man football team.

“You know (Gus) had a great career at Mission football and from what heard in years past, he also rushed for a lot of yards,” Bulldogs coach Tyler Murray said. “He’s been a workhorse for the last few years and he is a great leader on both sides of the ball. He had a big run and a big play on defense and was always a guy making plays. In hindsight, I would have probably used him in a couple of different ways (during the season) but he did a great job.”

Murray discussed how rare it is to have an All-Stater on a team. Bosley is Murray’s first-ever player Murray has ever coached to receive All-State accolades.

“Every division gets a certain amount of players, the west was just so good this year and there were great teams,” Murray said. “Even non-playoff teams had great players on every team (in the west). To get All-State from our division is pretty outstanding, I think. Some of the best players in the state and some of the best teams in the state (received All-State accolades) and you are in pretty good company when you look at the kids that were named All-State from the division.”

Other Bulldogs named to the All-Conference second team included Flint McPherson and Jedi Christy.

“Jedi worked out this summer, did quite a bit of work and did a lot of basketball,” Murray said. “I think he did a lot of basketball because I think he enjoys basketball quite a bit. He also spent time in the weight room to get bigger, faster and stronger when fall came around.”

Christy gave the team a multitude of offensive weapons for the Bulldogs.

“Jedi was a good option for us catching the ball at tight end and he did a great job blocking in our offensive scheme,” Murray said. “He played for us both ways as a sophomore and he was a great linebacker for us to use. He is one of these kids that is a leader as a young kid. If he gets going and encouraging the guys, he is a fun player to have.”

The other Bulldog that received All-Conference honors was Flint McPherson.

“He was just a great play maker when he played at the receiver spot,” Murray said. “He was kind of going back and forth in positions and we started out the year moving him to receiver. He did a great job whenever needed a big play. Flint is just a great all-around athlete and he even had a punt return and kick return for a touchdown. Defensively, he was our deep guy and he kept getting better. He saved us from a couple of big plays, came up to make the tackle and wouldn’t let anyone past him.”

Murray said he felt the team recognition was a testament to the talent that was in the western portion of Class C.

“We had really good football players almost every week. We tried to go out there and play. We had a lot of other kids (on our team) that were close to getting named to the All-Conference football teams,” Murray said.