The Kirksville Tigers dug themselves into too deep of a hole early and were dominated by Jefferson City 61-19 Friday in the district semi-finals. Jeff City took the opening kickoff and quickly drove down the field, capping the drive with a 3 yard touchdown run by Kevion Pendleton to give the Jays a 6-0 lead with 8:08 in the first quarter. On the Tiger’s first play on offense, a high snap sailed over the head of quarterback Isaac Danielson. The ball was recovered by the Jays deep in Tiger territory. Jeff City’s Pendleton found the end zone again on a 27 yard run and the Jays took a 13-0 lead just 25 seconds after their first score. Danielson threw an interception on Kirksville’s next possession and Pendleton would score on a 6 yard run to give Jeff City a 19-0 lead with 5:56 left in the first. The Tigers would get on the board on the ensuing possession on a 51 yard catch and run by Drew Chrisman to cut the Jays lead to 19-7. But Jeff City would score three unanswered touchdowns to go into the locker room leading 40-7. Continuous clock for much of the second half would eventually result in a 61-19 Jefferson City victory. Kirksville’s Chrisman would score his second touchdown of the game midway through the third quarter on a 56 yard run, and Randon Baumgartner would add a Tiger touchdown early in the fourth on a 47 yard catch and run. Chrisman ended with 152 yards rushing on four carries to go along with two receptions for 61 yards. Jeff City would rack up 511 total yards, 466 on the ground. Pendleton rushed for 247 yards on 22 carries and six touchdowns. David Bethune had 142 yards on the ground and one touchdown. The Tigers capped off the season with a 7-4 record, a second place finish in the NCMC with a 4-1 record, and their third consecutive trip to the district semifinals. Jeff City travels to Hannibal Friday for the district championship. Hannibal pounded Warrenton in the other semi-final 76-6.