Despite Kirksville being undefeated and ranked third in Class 4, Mexico knew it could beat the Tigers.

Mexico did just that to its North Central Missouri Conference rival on Friday night, defeating the Tigers 21-14 in Kirksville in the first round of the Class 4 District 5 tournament. Mexico took the lead with a Korbyn Dorsey touchdown catch on a 4th-and-10 play and then forced Kirksville to fumble to end the game.

Head coach Steve Haag said Mexico (5-5) was better prepared on both sides of the ball and executed well this time around. In the first 28-13 meeting, the Bulldogs couldn’t tackle Jace Kent as he ran for 289 yards and four touchdowns through the use of counter plays run by Kirksville’s offense. Kent finished with 86 yards on Friday, and the Tigers finished with 96 as a team compared to Mexico’s 233 yards. Instead, Ryder Lyons threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns for Kirksville.

“We knew what we had to do to be successful,” Haag said. “Our defensive staff did a great job of saying, ‘We need to do this’ and putting our guys in the right positions. When you play somebody the second time, you have a better feel for them. We were able to weather that storm and force them into some play calls they didn’t want.”

Haag said he knew his guys were “disappointed” with the result of Mexico’s Week 7 loss to Kirksville (9-1) and “made it personal” this time around. He said the Bulldogs’ regular season loss was also tough simply because it was lopsided but also since MICDS was a Class 5 school that had a lot of size and speed. However, that loss was more beneficial to the Bulldogs.

“Last week’s game against MICDS helped us because MICDS is a better team than Kirksville,” Haag said. “Our guys got to see a little bit of that speed and size. When you go play that team, you’re a little bit more ready. They shook off that loss and got after it.”

Kirksville held the lead at halftime but a slight advantage at 7-0. It seemed like it was going to be another competitive game decided by one or two possessions and that’s what eventually triggered the overtime format.

Mexico was able to get there partially due to offense being the offense, meaning the Bulldogs ran the option and involved the players it wanted. Drew DeMint caught a touchdown and four passes for 49 yards, Kaden Benne threw a couple touchdowns and 58 yards on 4-for-6 passing, and Hunter Cuno provided a power dimension by running for 119 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.

“In the second half, we started doing some things we had put in previously,” Haag said. “They knew we did them. They’ve seen it on film, but as I was telling someone, ‘They’ve got to love it. They’ve got to love what we do.’ It seemed like, tonight, it was clicking. Our guys just liked doing it and getting after it offensively.”

Mexico played defense first and then offense in the first overtime period and then had to play offense and defense. Haag said playing the different format takes an adjustment like playing offensive drives back-to-back.

Haag said Mexico’s field goal attempt was blocked, but the offense went right back out there for the second overtime. Dorsey’s 13-yard touchdown catch and then Leighton Hilderman recovering a Kirksville fumble ended the Tigers’ undefeated season and also Mexico’s four-game winless streak to Kirksville. According to MSHSAA, the last overtime game Mexico played was an 18-12 single-overtime loss to Boonville in 2011.

“It was a great team win,” Haag said. “It takes a team, and we’re playing pretty well as a team.”

Mexico has another chance for redemption against a conference opponent at 7 p.m. Friday when it plays at state No. 5 Hannibal (7-3). The Bulldogs lost 40-0 at Hannibal earlier this season and have allowed the Pirates to score at least 40 points in each of the previous five meetings during an eight-game losing streak to them. However, Haag said Mexico didn’t have its full roster available in this year’s first meeting.

“It’s the same mantra,” Haag said. “We’ve got to play our game and limit our mistakes and take advantage of the mistakes they make.”