Mexico didn’t feel like itself early Friday night at home against Warrenton.

The Bulldogs then kept it simple by relying on its option to score four unanswered touchdowns to defeat Warrenton 33-19 and go into the Class 3 District 5 Tournament as the No. 2 seed. All five of Mexico’s touchdowns were scored by a senior on Senior Night, with Anthony Shivers running for two and Morgan Grubb, Jordan Shelton and Andrew Runge each going for one.

Shivers finished with 146 yards on 12 carries, Runge had 94 yards on 12 carries and Grubb gained 57 yards on six carries.

Head coach Steve Haag said even though Mexico (4-5) recorded 350 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns on the ground and seemed to rattle off big run after big run, the Bulldogs were in a “funk” early in the game. Trusting in what has worked for so long was the answer.

“We just weren’t who we were towards the end of the first half, and then the second half, I think we became more who we were,” Haag said. “We got back into our option game. We were running a little bit of it, but I think sometimes you outthink yourself. We just got in our base formation and started running our option, and it worked out for us.”

Haag said the offensive line did a nice job blocking despite senior right guard Kendyr Taylor having to leave the game due to injury. Freshman Tucker Hutchinson did well filling in, Haag said, as the Bulldogs were still able to move the ball “at will” and could’ve scored more.

Grubb scored the first touchdown a minute into the game after getting loose for 43 yards. Warrenton (3-6) then showed some big-play capabilities through the air as quarterback Charlie Blondin completed five passes of at least 20 yards and finished with 261 yards and a touchdown on 16-for-32 passing.

Warrenton didn’t need to travel far for its first touchdown, however, as the Warriors went 31 yards after a Mexico fumble and tied the game at 6 after Blondin hopped to hit tight end Aidan Bond from two yards out.

In the second quarter, Blondin then dropped a pass into the arms of Ben Peth for a 54-yard gain prior to him finding the leaping Peyton Dawson in double coverage for a 20-yard touchdown, making it 13-6.

The Bulldogs took advantage of a Warrenton fumble on a punt that eventually turned into a five-yard Shivers score to tie the game at 13 and then Shelton ran for a 46-yard touchdown on the fourth play of a 63-yard drive to make it 19-13 Mexico at halftime.

“We really hurt ourselves in that first half,” Haag said. “We scored, we stopped them after they moved the ball a little bit and then we fumble. We kind of stopped ourselves there. We’re just not good when we give the ball back to people.”

Mexico didn’t need long drives to expand its lead in the second half as Shivers broke away for a 67-yard touchdown on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage, making it 27-13. The senior made sure he had a big play in the third quarter after having a long punt return walked back due to a penalty.

The Warriors went as deep as 14 plays into a drive that ran out the rest of time in the third quarter, but Blondin couldn’t find a target downfield this time to turn the ball over downs.

“We forced them to snap the ball more,” Haag said. “They had to earn it. Sometimes, there were receivers running deep down the middle, and we’ve got some corners who haven’t played much corner out there. They’re just learning, and they’re going to get better.”

Haag said the defense led by coach Kenny Grubb did a nice job countering Warrenton after having several long completions. He said the Bulldogs were better aware of where the first down markers were and didn’t jump on the run as quickly in the second half.

Two minutes deep into the fourth quarter, Runge weaved through the defense before running along the right sideline for a 45-yard touchdown to give Mexico a 33-13 lead. The touchdown also made Runge the fourth Bulldog senior to score on the same night seniors in football, cheerleading, band, cross country, girls golf and girl tennis were recognized before the game.

“They’re a talented group,” Haag said. “The bad thing is it was all scored by seniors so you know you don’t get any of those guys back (next year). They’ve been a good class for us. They did that last year and this year, and hopefully they can score a few more.”

Boonville defeated Eldon 34-24 at home but stays at the No. 3 seed in Mexico’s district after the Bulldogs took care of business. Mexico earns a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed and hosts the winner of No. 3 Boonville (5-4) and No. 6 Fulton (1-8) at 7 p.m. Nov. 4. Moberly (4-5) remains the No. 1 seed even after losing 58-14 to Jefferson City at home in Week 9.

Haag said he is still confident Mexico can defeat any team in its district and feels better about the Bulldogs’ chances after clinching a bye week.

“We’d like to get a week off and be rested,” Haag said. “We get that so we’ll just have to hopefully get a little bit healthy and see who we’re going to play.”