The Mexico football team was defeated by state ranked Hannibal 34-13 on the road Friday night.

The Bulldogs (2-2) sputtered on offense, unable to reach the end zone until the final seconds of the first half and unable to put together momentum in the second.

The Pirates, who are ranked third in Class 4, remained undefeated at 4-0.

Neither team scored in the first quarter, but the Pirates added two touchdowns in the first six minutes of the second quarter. It took until the last second of the first half for Mexico to score — Dante Billups punched in a one yard rushing score, cutting the lead to 12-7.

Halfway through the third quarter, Ian Williams broke off a 40 yard touchdown run for the Bulldogs, cutting the lead to seven again, this time at 20-13.

Mexico couldn’t find the end zone again, dropping its second game of the season on the road.

“The big thing against a team like Hannibal is that you have to limit your mistakes,” Mexico head coach Steve Haag said. “I thought we made some mistakes in some key areas during the game that hurt us.”

Billups finished as Mexico’s leading rusher, with 90 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Michael White rushed for 73 yards on 11 carries.

Haag was impressed with the defensive performance from linebacker Shannon Dorsey, who also caught the only pass of the night for the Bulldogs.

“[It’s] night and day from last year physicality wise,” Haag said.

Running back Isaiah Reams missed his second straight game with a knee injury. Haag expects Reams to run through practice with none to limited contact and to be a gametime decision for next week.

“I know he can run and I don’t think there’s much pain, but we’re still going to be careful,” Haag said.

The Bulldogs will look to bounce back this Friday at home against Fulton (0-5). Game time is 7 p.m.