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| Serving Callaway County communities since 1875. | www.fultonsun.com | Wednesday, November 19, 2008 |
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Big-time defensive effort bails out No. 7 Hornets again By MARCUS WILKINS The Fulton Sun
And for the second week in a row, they survived. Friday night was the maiden voyage in the North Central Missouri Conference for the Boonville Pirates, and a 14-12 Fulton victory in what was the conference opener for the Hornets as well. Fumbles, interceptions and shoddy special-teams play sullied the game, but in the end, it was the Fulton players singing their fight song on the long grass of Gene Reagan Field. “I don't know what mistake you can make in a football game that we didn't make tonight,” said Fulton head coach Pat Kelley of his team, which is ranked No. 7 in Class 3. “Boonville caused a lot of those mistakes. We had interceptions for touchdowns, we fumbled, we fumbled kicks, we fumbled punts, we had penalties that killed drives, we missed blocks, defensive assignments, didn't tackle well - but with the character of these kids, they (held on) and won.” Clearly, Kelley and the Hornets (2-0) have a lengthy to-do list at practice this week before they finally open at home against Versailles at 7 p.m. next Friday. Versailles lost to Knob Noster 13-8 on Friday night. But for now, the Fulton coaching staff doesn't have to concern itself with the ability of senior running back Jon Sidney, who again turned in an impressive 26-carry, 122-yard performance. Boonville responded immediately when the fleet-footed Robert Callaway gashed the Hornets' kicking team for an 86-yard, zig-zag return to make it 7-6. Things went from bad to worse on the ensuing kick when Fulton junior Tim White snared a low line drive and tried an ill-advised backward pitch to senior teammate Mike Davis. The fumbled transfer gave the Pirates a short field at the Fulton 24, but the Hornets defense drove them backwards to the 37 to force a punt. The special-teams hijinks continued after the next Fulton drive stalled. Sidney's 26-yard punt bounced off the foot of a Boonville player and was smothered by the Hornets. Senior quarterback Jeremy Lane then led Fulton on a nine-play, 35-yard drive capped by a 21-yard touchdown strike to junior tailback Antawan Ferguson to give the Hornets a 14-6, halftime lead. For Boonville, senior quarterback Chuckie Jones spent most of the night trying to find his passing rhythm. Fulton's servicable pass defense held Jones to just one first-half completion - a 10-yard dart to wideout Kendall Towlain. The receiver appeared to have a clear route to the end zone, if not for a touchdown-saving tackle by Jones from his defensive back position. “A lot of it has to do with confidence at the wide receiver and quarterback position,” said Boonville head coach Brad Parsons of his team's meager completion percentage. “It's something we're going to work on this week.” The Pirates' offense continued to sputter in the second half. But on defense, Boonville's Jesse Monk picked off a pass from Lane and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown with 11:51 to play to make it 14-12. The teams traded fruitless posessions until Boonville ignited the home crowd with a drive to the Fulton 15 with 3:22 remaining. On the seventh play of the drive, Jones rolled to his left and overthrew his receiver. The ball sailed into the arms of junior defensive back Nathan Wilcox for his second interception of the game. “Boonville is a pretty good team, but we left them in the game,” Wilcox said. “I'll give credit to them, but we made mistakes. We're better, and the score should have been different.” Again, the Hornets relied on Sidney to carry them home. Of Fulton's 25 final offensive plays, 15 were handoffs to No. 32. “I like to get the ball and get the first downs when I can,” said Sidney, who played significant minutes at linebacker as well. “It's my first year as a two-way player. It's tough but I gotta stick it out for the team.” “If you have a weapon like that, you have to use it,” said Kelley of the 2007 all-district, all-NCMC back. “Obviously the defense stepped up again. “It's a shame that there's 12 points up on the board and the defense didn't give up any of them.” |
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