KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The Fulton Hornets had trouble stopping the Kirksville Tigers' rushing attack.
Kirksville junior running back Blake Lewis gained a game-high 264 yards as the Tigers totaled 355 yards on the ground in handing the Hornets a narrow 13-12 North Central Missouri Conference loss in Friday night's regular-season finale.
The loss marked the first time Fulton (4-5, 2-4 NCMC) has lost back-to-back games since 2014.
"It's frustrating for everybody," Hornets head coach Pat Kelley said. "I think we came out flat. For whatever reason, we just didn't have the fire and the snap that we've had all year, and it finally caught up to us.
"It's not one person, it's not one play. It's between 12 and 15 plays we didn't win that cost us the game."
A good amount of those plays happened in the decisive fourth quarter.
With Fulton protecting a 12-6 edge with 7 minutes, 42 second remaining in the game, Kirksville (4-5, 4-2) began a drive from its own 20-yard line. The Tigers had a third down from their own 34 when Lewis broke a 56-yard run to put Kirksville in scoring position.
Three plays later, the Tigers faced a fourth-and-goal when junior quarterback John Bohon scored from 4 yards out to tie the game. Senior kicker Pierce Miletich made the extra point to give Kirksville the one-point lead with 3:47 to play.
"We were playing the inside to make sure that didn't happen and they drove us back in the end zone," Kelley said. "We gave up the fewest points we've given up all year. You can't give up the big play against these guys.
"On the last touchdown drive, it's third-and-6 and we let them convert. We've done stuff like that all year - we just have to be better and more sound on those downs that really count."
The Hornets got the ball back on their own 23 and converted two first downs to reach midfield. Senior quarterback Devin Masek was chased out of the pocket and threw a pass downfield that was picked off by Tigers senior defensive back Nick Williams at the Kirksville 39 with 2:23 left.
"Just like the Osage game (a 28-21 Fulton loss), people are going to remember that last throw, but that's not on him," Kelley said. "He ran for his life more times than he didn't. They were getting pressure on us with a three-man rush and that just can't happen."
Despite the loss, Fulton held on to the fourth seed in Class 3, District 6 with 32.45 points. The Hornets will host No. 5 seed Winfield (3-5) in a District 6 first-round game next Friday night. The Warriors rolled to a 44-18 home win over Lift for Life Academy Charter on Friday night.
"We have to put this (loss) behind us, now it's sudden death. It's win and advance, or lose and go home," Kelley said. "We've got to go out and prepare well. We haven't played horribly at home, we just played some really good teams.
"We have no idea about Winfield, but hopefully we go out and play well and get a little momentum into the second round."
After the Masek interception, Kirksville ran the clock down to :32.9 remaining before having to punt.
The Hornets started their final drive at their own 16. Two plays later, Fulton faced a second-and-24 on its own 3 with 0:02.1 left. Masek completed a 5-yard pass to sophomore running back Taeon Logan and the Hornets tried lateralling the ball twice before getting tackled as time ran out.
"Our kids competed, we didn't play as crisp as we needed to play," Kelley said. "It's not like Kirksville's a bad team."
The game was scoreless at halftime and Fulton had just 95 yards of total offense in the first half. Kelley indicated that the absence of senior wide receiver Alec Fleetwood might have played a role in the Hornets' lack of production.
Fleetwood left with an injury during the game's opening drive when he tried to catch a pass. Kelley said Fleetwood was on crutches the rest of the game, but did not know the extent of the injury.
"Our first and third receivers weren't playing," Kelley said. "(Senior) Isaac Franklin's been done since Boonville. It's tough when you don't have those guys in there."
The first score of the game occurred on Kirksville's second possession of the third quarter. Lewis sprinted in a 92-yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 6-0 with 8:10 to go. Kirksville missed the extra point.
Fulton answered on its next series to tie the game. Masek scored on a 7-yard run at the 2:10 mark to cap off a 16-play drive, but the Hornets also missed the extra point.
After forcing a three-and-out, Fulton took its only lead of the game. Masek threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver L'Trevion Vaughn with 0:16.6 left in the quarter to give the Hornets their 12-6 edge.
Masek completed 20-of-35 passes for 215 yards and an interception, while also rushing for a team-high 87 yards on eight carries.
"He played well," Kelley said. "The kid's playing hurt, you just hold your breath every time we run him and just try to keep him healthy."
Vaughn also ended up with 136 yards on seven catches.
"To Tre's credit, he stepped up and had a great game," Kelley said. "He's stepped up the past few weeks and he'll have to step up more now."