Despite the 40-15 final score indicating a blowout in favor of the Fulton Hornets over the Boonville Pirates in Friday night's Class 3, District 6 opener at Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium, fans were forced to endure some anxious moments in the first half.
The No. 2 seed Hornets (8-2) - who had marched to a 47-13 North Central Missouri Conference romp over Boonville on Oct. 2 in Fulton - trailed the No. 7 Pirates in the second quarter Friday night before carrying a narrow 21-15 lead into halftime.
"I think we probably panicked a littled bit in the first half," Fulton head coach Pat Kelley said. "It was the first time we've been really close going into halftime and I think we were pressing a little bit.
"I just told them to relax and come back out and play football, and I think we showed a lot of character out there in the second half.
The Hornets kept their play calling pretty even in the first half, with junior quarterback Devin Masek throwing for 86 of his 92 yards during that span.
"They were selling out, having seven or eight (defenders) in the box and blitzing people," Kelley said. "They were playing man coverage with nobody over the top, so they were inviting us to pass, so we threw it."
Fulton opened the game completing consecutive passes for 37 yards and 17 yards, setting up Masek's 9-yard touchdown run with 9 minutes, 35 seconds left in the first quarter. Masek finished with 52 yards rushing and two scores.
Boonville countered with a big drive to keep the game close. Kelley said earlier in the week that he expected the Pirates to utilize senior fullback Dalton Bealmer in their game plan.
However, Boonville did something that it really hasn't done much of in the first half of many of its games this season, and that's throw the ball. Junior quarterback Nick Zeitlow hit sophomore tight end Kole Ficken for a 21-yard strike in the middle of the field and Bealmer followed with a 23-yard run to set up a 1-yard touchdown keeper by Zeitlow with 1:56 to go in the quarter.
"We called it on the sideline on the first one (pass)," Kelley said. "We just blew the coverage and that kind of got them going."
The Pirates came up with a defensive stop of the Hornets and junior kicker Hunter Edwards nailed a 40-yard field goal to put Boonville on top 9-7 with 9:54 to go in the first half.
Fulton regained the lead on its next series when senior running back Travis Dean raced 68 yards for a touchdown. Dean finished with 206 yards rushing and three scores.
Zeitlow hit Ficken across the middle again for a 13-yard completion on the Pirates' ensuing possession. That set up the run for Boonville and Bealmer scored from 6 yards out to tie the game at 15-all.
The Hornets countered with a series of runs and short pass plays that was capped off by Dean's 8-yard touchdown run with :36 left to put Fulton up by six points at halftime.
The second half was a completely different story for both teams. The Hornets switched up their balanced attack to almost exclusively running the ball over the final two quarters as they only attempted six passes.
"We just started making better blocks (in the second half)," Kelley said. "We talked about it, that if they were going to blitz, if we could get hats on them, we'd be able to get some seams."
Fulton's defense blanked Boonville in the second half, forcing the Pirates to turn the ball over on downs three times.
"We just talked about the tight end, we talked about option responsibility, we talked about getting a hat on No. 21 (Bealmer)," Kelley said. "We played with more intensity."
After the Hornets forced a punt to start the third quarter, Fulton increased its lead to 27-15 on Dean's 86-yard touchdown burst at the 8:20 mark. Boonville then turned the ball over on downs on a pass deflection and the Hornets responded with a seven-minute series.
"We've been able to do that this year, where we've answered with big drives and just time-consuming drives to take the momentum away from the other team and get it on our side," Kelley said. "We were able to do it again tonight, and I think that shows the character of these kids."
Fulton almost had the possession come to a halt on a fourth-and-five from its own 31-yard line. Dean lined up to punt, but took the snap and scampered 5 yards for the first down.
"I felt we needed some momentum," Kelley said. "It was something we'd seen on tape, it's something we've practiced this week, and I felt it was just the right time to do it."
Unfortunately, Dean left the game after the next play due to an unspecified injury. He would return for two plays later in the drive before Masek scored on a 5-yard run with 10:01 left in the game, but Dean sat out the rest of the way as a precautionary measure. Dean had a bag of ice taped to his right forearm afterward.
"He's a little dinged up," Kelley said. "He's going to get checked out and we'll know a little more on Monday."
The Hornets' final score came on Masek's 6-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Alec Fleetwood with 4:07 to play.
Fulton will remain at home for a District 6 semifinal matchup against No. 6 seed Southern Boone (3-7) next Friday night. The Eagles pulled off a 48-21 upset at No. 3 seed California on Friday night.