FULTON, Mo. - Even though Fulton is eight games deep into the season, Hornets head coach Pat Kelley wanted to emphasize fundamentals at practice this week.
Players worked out on tackling pads in preparation for what lies ahead.
"We've been spending a little extra time working on tackling," Kelley said. "We didn't tackle very well on Friday night (against Mexico) to compare to how we have earlier in the year. So we wanted to make sure we work on that a little bit."
Despite putting up 39 points in last week's annual Highway 54 Bowl at rival Mexico, more than any other team has scored on the Class 4-ranked Bulldogs this season, the Hornets allowed 64. Some of Mexico's biggest runs were a result of broken tackles.
After trailing 49-14 early in the second half, Kelley said it was very telling of what type of team he has after the Hornets responded with 19 unanswered points to bring the game within two scores before Mexico regained control.
"We've talked about the fact that we were at the point where the running clock was going to start, but we didn't quit," Kelley said. "The way we played in the second half, with the fire and determination after being down so much, shows a lot of character and we've just been trying to play off of that.
"We've got a lot of important games that we have to get ready for, so we just take the positives out of that game and go right ahead."
Fulton (6-2, 4-2 North Central Missouri Conference) will close out the regular season tonight when it hosts winless Kirksville in a conference matchup. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium.
"It's a scary thing to play a team that hasn't had a win," Kelley said. "They're going to be desperate and we're going to have to match their intensity."
Kirksville - 0-6 in the NCMC - plunged to 0-8 on the season after a 33-8 non-conference home loss to Trenton last week. The Tigers have managed to score just 62 points combined this season, while surrendering 285.
Kirksville has split snaps between two quarterbacks, with sophomore John Bohon (6-foot-3, 186 pounds) accounting for most of the Tigers' scoring. Bohon has passed for 497 yards, four touchdowns and 10 interceptions in six games, while junior Tanner Schilling (6-3, 195) has thrown for 247 yards and six interceptions through seven games.
The Hornets, meanwhile, are averaging 43 points a game as senior running back Travis Dean has already gained 1,486 yards and 18 touchdowns. Dean rushed for 257 yards and two scores against Mexico, and returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown.
Junior quarterback Devin Masek finished 17-of-27 last week for 222 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a score. Masek has completed 57 percent of his passes (82-of-142) for 1,192 yards, 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Kelley emphasized there is no need to alter the offensive game plan tonight against Kirksville.
"We aren't going to do anything that we haven't done in the first eight games of the season," Kelley said.
Fulton sits in second place in the Class 3, District 6 standings with 43.79 points and will host a first-round game. Blair Oaks (8-0) - ranked second in the state - is in first place with 49.61 points, while Southern Boone trails the Hornets in third with 37.37.
"You want to go out and win every game; you want to go into Week 10 with some momentum," Kelley said. "This is kind of a preseason game going into the playoffs; we want to be as polished as we can be."
Despite losing two of its last three, Fulton will accomplish one of its preseason objectives with a victory tonight.
"One of our goals these guys set back in the spring was to be undefeated at home in the regular season," Kelley said. "A win tonight guarantees that."
Fulton hosts Kirksville - Updates on Twitter: @FultonSunSports.
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