FULTON, Mo. - Following his team's 42-7 conference loss to the state-ranked Hannibal Pirates last week, Fulton Hornets head coach Pat Kelley noticed his players exhibiting emotions such as "anger," "pain" and sadness.
"We didn't really play well the week before (at Marshall) and last week, we knew we played better, but it was the idea of going out there with the best - (Hannibal) is perennially the best team in the conference - and to go out and not really have anything to show for it other than you did your best," Kelley said.
Simply put, the Hornets wanted the statement win against Hannibal and didn't get it.
Fulton will try to end its two-game skid tonight in a crucial North Central Missouri Conference game at Boonville against the Pirates. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The Hornets (3-3, 1-2 NCMC) impressed Kelley with their consistently intense play against Hannibal, despite the defense getting ripped for 379 rushing yards.
Kelley said the final score doesn't really indicate how hard the Hornets played against the Pirates, ranked No. 10 in Class 4. He saw an attitude and a fire in his unit that he didn't see in the previous week's matchup, a seemingly more competitive-looking 52-42 NCMC loss at Marshall.
"The biggest bright spot for me was we were mad till the end and guys didn't want to come off and those things were going on," Kelley said. "We're going to see good football teams as we go through the rest of the season, and when you get that opportunity, you learn from it and move on.
"Hopefully, that intensity that we left off with last week can carry over to this week."
It will have to in a game Kelley is calling "the biggest game we'll play all season."
Boonville (1-5, 1-2) is coming off its first win of the season last week, a 27-25 comeback effort at NCMC foe Kirksville. Tonight's contest is not only a conference battle but also a showdown between Class 3 District 6 opponents.
In fact, if the regular season ended today, the Hornets - in third place in the district with 34.83 points - would host sixth-place Boonville (24.17).
There's also the matter of last year's game. The two teams traded punches throughout the contest, with the Pirates scoring on a touchdown pass with no time left to escape Fulton with a 42-39 victory.
Kelley and his team don't talk much about the outcome. Kelley noted it's the first time he, personally, has ever lost a game on the last play and how the loss helped spur his Hornets later in the season when a late touchdown pushed them past Chillicothe in the district quarterfinals.
That being said, Kelley noted tonight's matchup will feature two different teams.
"That's hard to get over, and we haven't talked about it, because it's a different year, and we want to go out and execute the best we can (tonight) and not worry about last year," he said.
Boonville's offense is guided by sophomore quarterback Nick Zeitlow, a "rangy" 6-foot-4, 170-pounder. Zeitlow is completing 45.6 percent of his passes - 41-of-90 - for 611 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions this season.
Zeitlow hit on 10-of-18 passes for 236 yards and three scores against Kirksville.
"He's not afraid to sling it down field and fit one in; sometimes it gets him in trouble, and sometimes he pulls it off," Kelley said.
Two of Zeitlow's touchdown passes went to senior wide receiver Austin Hulbert (5-10, 165), who finished with eight catches for 160 yards. For the season, Hulbert has 20 receptions for 360 yards (18.0 average) and three scores.
Junior running back Justin Weaver (5-9, 175) spearheads the Pirates' ground attack with 311 yards and three touchdowns. Weaver operates between the tackles, something the Fulton defense has seen a lot of the last few weeks.
Senior running back Austin Henderson (5-10, 170) has rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown and - like Fulton senior running back Dominique Ford - can run from different spots in the formation.
"(He's) sort of a slash kind of back," Kelley said. "... They'll line him up in the slot and run some dashes and jet sweeps, and sometimes he'll line up in the backfield every now and then on pitches to get him to the outside."
Boonville's backs run behind a line that isn't as big as Kelley remembers, but is sufficiently "scrappy."
The Pirates' 4-4 defense is keyed by strength in the middle, particularly at linebacker, according to Kelley.
Fulton was .500 through six games at this juncture last season. With just under three points separating the Hornets, fourth-place Owensville (33) and fifth-place Eldon (31) in the district standings, the intensity Kelley saw last week is going to need to be a constant in this final third of the season.
"We've got two other teams that are kind of chomping right on our heels," Kelly said, "so from this point on, every win, every point and every game is important."
Fulton at Boonville - Updates on Twitter: @FultonSunSports