Mexico had its best night against Moberly in a few years.

After two straight losses to the North Central Missouri Conference rival, the Bulldogs won 39-20 on Moberly’s Senior Night with 439 rushing yards. Hunter Cuno ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, and Drew DeMint followed with 149 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.

Head coach Steve Haag said Mexico started the game well by leading 13-0 and was able to hold an advantage by controlling the line of scrimmage. After its top two rushers, Peyton Hoover ran for 73 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

“Other than a fumble, offensively, we played really well,” Haag said. “We played well up front blocking, and we ran the ball inside and ran the ball outside.”

Haag said a key moment was Hoover’s interception returned for a touchdown to make it 26-7 in the second half. He described the Mexico defense as a “bend don’t break” against Moberly with standout nights from Cuno, DeMint and Korbyn Dorsey.

“They go score, but then we take his pick-six and then we go 80 yards and take seven minutes off the clock,” Haag said. “That’s pretty demoralizing to a team. There was no answer defensively as we were running the ball down their throat.”

The Bulldogs were literally “off to the races” at moments, Haag said, like with DeMint’s 70-yard touchdown run and Cuno’s 65-yard run to put the lead at three possessions at 39-20. Mexico’s past two losses were competitive and were decided by two possessions, and that touchdown matched Moberly’s best quarter at 13 points in the fourth.

Mexico hosts Class 5 MICDS (6-2) at 7 p.m. Friday for the regular season finale. Haag said 11 seniors will be honored for the Bulldogs’ Senior Night.

“It’s going to be a good one with a good team – probably the best we’ve played this year,” Haag said.