McDonald County had just clawed its way into contention Friday at Lamar.
A nine-play, 80-yard march -- sparked by Cole Martin's 51-yard completion to Colton Ruddick and capped by Martin's 9-yard fouchdown run -- put the Mustangs on the scoreboard. Jared Mora's PAT pulled them within 19-7 with 1:11 remaining in the first half.
If McDonald County shut down Lamar and got to halftime down by 12, the rally might continue after the break.
But the top-ranked Tigers took the ensuing kickoff and moved 71 yards in two plays to go up 25-7, essentially sealing the victory.
The final was 31-7 as 3-0 Lamar won its 13th in a row. McDonald County, the last team to beat the Tigers, dipped to 2-1.
"Momentum is a big part of the game," Mustangs coach Kellen Hoover said. "That definitely got the momentum back in their favor."
But there were other opportunities, Hoover noted. McDonald County had two promising early drives end when fourth-down conversion attempts failed in Lamar territory, at the 48 and 15.
"We just didn't capitalize," Hoover said.
It was the Mustangs' biggest regular-season game in years. Against the defending Class 2 state champions, they needed a near-perfect effort. The speedy Tigers' explosive ground attack eventually proved too much to overcome.
"There's always positives you can draw from your losses," Hoover said. "A lot of that is to learn, a chance to get better. A lot of things are very fixable."
Quarterback Cole Martin was among the positives. The senior completed 14-of-21 passes for 139 yards and reacted well against a defense that forced McDonald County to adjust its passing strategy on the fly.
"I thought our quarterback had a really good game," Hoover said.
That carried over to the receivers as Cross Dowd and Pierce Harmon complemented Ruddick (three catches for 66 yards) and Jack Parnell.
"Our receiving corps had a pretty good night," Hoover said. "We had a lot of guys get catches."
The defense focused on containing Tigers star quarterback Joel Beshore. McDonald County accomplished that mission, holding him to 48 yards on 11 carries and no TDs.
"I thought our defensive front played well," Hoover said, especially praising the work on the interior. "We didn't let him break any big ones."
But other players hurt the Mustangs. Lamar rushed for 404 yards, led by Logan Crockett with 167 yards on 10 carries. Crockett added TD runs of 17, 1 and 85 yards. His first two scores put the Tigers ahead 12-0 after one quarter. Crockett's third TD and Jose Juarez's PAT made it 19-0 at the nine-minute mark of the second quarter.
After McDonald County narrowed the gap to 19-7, Trace Wilhite's 63-yard scamper set up Austin Wilkerson's 8-yard score and a 25-7 halftime advantage.
The Tigers tacked on a fourth-quarter touchdown to close the scoring.
Now the Mustangs turn their attention to Monett and homecoming this Friday.