The Kirksville Tigers rode their defense again, and used big plays to run their record to 6-3 with a 28-6 win over Capital City High Friday on Senior Night at Spainhower Field. The Tigers forced the Cavaliers to turn the ball over on downs on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter. The second time it happened, with KHS hanging onto a 21-6 lead, big defensive lineman Owen Frazier made his mark on Senior night by pancaking Capital City quarterback Hayden Carroll to the turf on a fourth down sack to slam the door with 2:31 to play in the game. Kirksville’s Jaden Ballinger put an exclamation point on the night with a 42 yard interception return for a touchdown with :41 seconds to play to make the final score 28-6. KHS used a big play early in the game when Kendrick Hartman returned an interception 29 yards to the Capital City one yard line, then found the end zone on an Isaac Danielson 6 yard pass to Ballinger just 1:47 into the game. Randon Baumgartner scored on a nifty 52 yard catch and run with 2:06 to play in the first to make it 14-0. The Tigers capped off a four play, 61 yard drive when Ballinger caught a 14 yard touchdown pass from Danielson with 2:30 to play to send the Tigers up the hill at halftime with a 21-0 lead. Robert Gray scored on a 37 yard touchdown catch for Capital City midway through the third. The Tigers forced 4 turnovers while committing just one of their own. Ballinger finished with 11 catches for 111 yards. On a night when the going was tough for the ground game, Danielson completed 26 out of 40 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Rilegh McLain was a perfect 4 for 4 on PAT’s as she continued her outstanding season. Kirksville moves on to district play in Class 4 District 5 next Friday with a home game against either Marshall or Moberly. The official pairings will be released later in the weekend. Marshall beat Cameron Friday 30-0, Troy Buchanan beat Moberly 48-14. KHS beat both the Spartans and Owls earlier in the season. The Jefferson City Jays clinched a first round bye in the district tournament with a 50-37 win over Ft. Zumwalt West.