No matter how many times Jefferson City wrapped up Battle running back Darren Jordan for a gain of 1 or 2 yards, he'd always find a way to break through for one big run that would save a drive or end in a score.
Jordan's fourth of five touchdown runs went for 78 yards late in the third quarter to make it a two-score lead for the Spartans.
The Jays had stopped Jordan for a 1-yard gain on the previous play.
"We had a guy that ended up slipping a little bit too wide and the back cut underneath and there's no one there to touch him," Jefferson City coach Terry Walker said following Friday night's 54-35 loss at Adkins Stadium.
The Jays contained Jordan for much of the first half, including when defensive back Darrell Jones and linebacker Bryant Gipe teamed up to take Jordan down for a 1-yard gain on a fourth-and-3 early in the second quarter.
That gave the Jays the ball 53 yards from the end zone and they ended up there in seven plays.
Orentheus Pitts had a 14-yard run and Cole Gresham completed a 16-yard pass to Devin White to help set up a 4-yard touchdown run for Davis Bethune.
Ben Folz's second of five extra points gave the Jays a 14-6 lead at the 8:48 mark of the second quarter.
After that, the holes began to open up for Jordan more often.
Battle's senior back gained 27 yards on the third play of the ensuing drive and scored from 15 yards out after taking a toss from Harrison Keller.
Receiver Tavian Miller tied it at 14 as Battle converted the 2-point conversion with the triple-option play with 6:19 on the clock.
That score held until the Jays went 70 yards in 10 plays on the first drive of the second half to lead 21-14 with 8:15 left in the third quarter.
Gresham completed a 25-yard pass to Darrell Jones on third-and-9 and a 21-yard pass to White on second-and-15.
White finished off the drive by getting separation in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown catch.
White caught seven passes for 124 yards, his third straight game with more than 100 yards.
Then a combination of Jordan running is space, Miller getting open in the secondary and turnovers allowed Battle to take and keep the lead.
Jordan had touchdown runs of 34, 4 and 78 yards in the third quarter, Miller caught passes of 42 yards and 30 yards on touchdown drives all while the Jays threw three interceptions and fumbled on a kickoff return.
Jefferson City did cancel out a William Henderson interception when Gipe recovered a fumbled snap and Jones made an over-the-shoulder catch on a 40-yard touchdown to cut Battle's advantage to 34-28 with 32 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Jays turned a Pitts interception into points in the first quarter when Bethune burst through a hole for a 50-yard touchdown to take a 7-6 lead at the 3:28 mark.
But Jordan's 4-yard touchdown followed Clayton Campbell's fumble recovery on a kickoff return and Jordan's 19-yard score came after Kendrick Harris picked off Gresham.
The final score of the game came when Trevonne Hicks intercepted a pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown with 43.2 seconds remaining.
Gresham completed 17-of-38 passes for 298 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions.
"I thought he made some good throws," Walker said. "There were times I thought he had time to throw and obviously there were times when we didn't protect him very well. In any event, when you're under duress, you've either got to throw it away or you've got to try and create a play with your legs.
"I'm not saying you throw it up, but we'll look at the film and see if that's what happened."
Jefferson City did find success throwing it to Bethune from the slot as he caught six passes for 98 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown.
Bethune, a sophomore, also ran it eight times for 70 yards and three scores.
"David's a really tough, hard-nosed player that plays really hard for us," Walker said. "Still a young kid still learning a lot, but we've been pleased with what David has done for us this year, and certainly someone we can hope to build around as we move forward."
Jones had four receptions for 74 yards.
Jefferson City tried some jet sweeps and a couple reverses in the game, but White was held to three yards on five rushing attempts while Jones gained 22 yards on his lone carry.
"I've always wanted us to be able to run reverses," Walker said. "Our perimeter blocking has not been real good. And we saw this evening on a couple of the jet plays we're trying to run we're just not getting real good perimeter blocking at times, and we're getting too much push up the field and causing the jet back to bubble. But that's something that we'll keep working on."
Keller finished 12-of-24 with 201 yards and an interception for Battle (5-3), the 10th-ranked team in Class 5 in the latest Missouri Media Rankings. He also ran it 18 times for 132 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown.
Keller's favorite target was Miller, who caught seven passes for 153 yards.
Jordan, who was held to 4 yards or fewer on 21 of his 29 rushing attempts, ran for 226 yards and five touchdowns.
Jefferson City (2-6) will close the regular season against Rockhurst (5-3) on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m. at Adkins Stadium.
The Hawklets are coming off a 31-14 victory against C.B.C. (6-2), the No. 2-ranked team in Class 6.
Notes: Jefferson City senior lineman Brandon Backues was taken off the field on a stretcher during the third quarter and was taken to University Hospital in Columbia. The team announced on Twitter that Backues was able to leave the hospital Friday night with minor injuries. "Brandon's a leader on the offensive line, he's a leader on the defensive line," Walker said. "Certainly we feel him going out to start the half is not optimum for us. I'm not going to sit here and say that's why we lost the game, it's not, but you want to have all your players. Brandon's a key player for us. They took some precautionary steps to make sure that he was going to be OK and wasn't going to experience further injury. I'm hopeful that he'll be all right." Jefferson City is eighth in the Class 6 District 3 standings with 21.82 points, about six points behind Lindbergh (3-5). Joplin (8-0), the third-ranked team in Class 6, is first with 45.75 points, about three points ahead of Marquette (7-1), the eighth-ranked team.