Fulton seeks to secure district home game

With win against Kirksville

FULTON - Fulton Hornets head coach Pat Kelley believes his program has turned a corner.

A win in Fulton's regular-season finale tonight at NCMC foe Kirksville (kickoff at 7 p.m.), with the chance to lock up at least one home game during the district playoffs, will go a long way in cementing that claim.

Despite last week's 20-13 North Central Missouri Conference home loss to rival Mexico, Fulton maintained third place in the Class 3 District 6 standings. The Hornets (4-4, 2-3 NCMC) sit at 35.03 points, followed by Owensville (30.23), Eldon (27.8) and Boonville (25.62).

"That's a big deal and when we set out in the spring to set goals, one of the first ones we had was to host a playoff game," Kelley said.

Kirksville defeated Trenton 31-24 at home last week for its first victory of the season. The Tigers (1-7, 1-5) are the fourth opponent this season the Hornets face a week after its first win. Fulton topped Moberly 23-13 on Sept. 5, fell to Marshall 52-42 on Sept. 12, then downed Boonville 20-6 on Oct. 3.

"You have to go in fired up and ready to play," Kelley said. "We've (played teams after their first win) before and we're playing Kirksville after their first win and it's their last (regular-season) game, and I'm sure they're fired up and have built up some momentum around everything."

The confidence gained by the Tigers from their win, grouped with an enthusiastic home crowd, a long drive for the Hornets and conference familiarity makes Kirksville a tough place to play, according to Kelley.

"It's an NCMC game," he said. "And if you look at that, I don't think anyone says, "That game is going to be easy,' or "This game is going to be easy,' because the conference is so brutal."

Kelley points to the Boonville game, which began this pivotal final third of the season for Fulton. The Hornets had a chance to take a two-score advantage early in the first quarter, but Kelley said he didn't feel like his team properly put the Pirates away until well into the fourth quarter.

"What we need to do is go in there and play well on both sides of the ball early," Kelley said.

Kirksville's offense is geared heavily toward senior running back Makenna Cook.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Cook has rushed for 1,004 yards (5.7 average) and 10 touchdowns on 175 carries this season. Much of the Tigers' power running is done through the versatile back, whose rushing attempts and yardage represent 84.1 and 96.5 percent of Kirksville's respective team totals in each category.

Cook is a threat to run behind senior fullback Devon Coulson (5-9, 205), or will take a direct snap out of the Wildcat formation and get to the edges.

"More times than not, when he gets the ball, he's going to get positive yards," Kelley said. "... It's not a secret what they're trying to do. They're going to line up and run right at you, and you have to try and stop them."

The Hornets will combat the running attack with their traditional 4-4 defense, bolstered by the return of junior free safety Andy Baysinger, who missed the last three games with a knee injury.

Tigers sophomore quarterback Tanner Schilling (6-0, 155) is completing 47 percent of his throws (72-of-154) for 836 yards with only three touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Kelley's scouting report states Schilling uses Cook's running threat to set up play-action passes into the flat. Freshman wide receiver Blake Lewis (5-6, 140) is Kirksville's leading receiver with 21 catches for 229 yards, while senior tight ends Joe Brawner (6-4, 230) and Kevin Kincanon (6-2, 220) are big targets, both with a touchdown catch to their credit.

Kirksville is big at defensive tackle and middle linebacker as they oppose a Fulton offense coming off a season-worst 48 rushing yards against Mexico. Kelley noticed Kirksville's defense - a unit allowing just under 31 points per game - struggles with misdirection and can get worn down.

"We feel like if we get a body on a body and get our backs into space, that we'll be fine," Kelley said.

Kelley isn't letting the Tigers' record fool him and knows the Tigers will provide a formidable barrier between the Hornets and their goals.

"They're not going to roll over for us; they have some good athletes and have had a hard, long season," he said. "I look for it to be a hard-fought game because it usually is between these teams."