Last week's 56-13 NCMC home loss to the Kirksville Tigers frustrated Fulton Hornets head coach Pat Kelley just a little bit more than his team's previous four setbacks this season.
A loss is a loss, but this one ate at Kelley for a specific reason.
"I felt like we matched up a lot better with Kirksville," Kelley said Thursday afternoon. "I felt after watching them on tape that obviously we knew the two kids in the backfield were quick, but I felt we could do a better job on them than we did."
Kirksville's two backs - Harrison Dollins and Scott Schwend -ran for 147 and 145 yards, respectively, and two touchdowns apiece as Kirksville accumulated 426 yards on the ground.
The Hornets (1-5, 1-4 NCMC) will try to bounce back from that performance in tonight's battle for the Highway 54 sign at Mexico. Kickoff is at 7.
The Kirksville backs ran up and down the field on the Hornets, but this week Fulton is charged with containing a runner that, according to Kelley, may be the best in the North Central Missouri Conference in Bulldogs tailback Shia Miller.