Fulton looks to continue winning ways

Tonight at Marshall

FULTON, Mo. - At the midway point of the season, Fulton head coach Pat Kelley likes where his Hornets are positioned.

Fulton is in the midst of a three-game win streak, an uptick it will try to stay on tonight in a North Central Missouri Conference matchup at Marshall. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

The Hornets (3-1) halted a fourth-quarter rally by Moberly in last week's NCMC opener, topping the Spartans 23-13 at Robert E. Fisher Stadium.

Fulton's potent, multi-faceted offense averaged 27 points and 330 yards in its last three outings. Defensively, the Hornets have given up just 19 points combined during that same span.

That unit's stout play can be attributed to, among many factors, a lack of big plays by opposing offenses.

"You go back to last year and we'd bend and we'd bend and we'd bend, and they'd either hit the big pass or a long run and it just kind of gets you down, and you have to try and regroup ...," Kelley said.

Kelley stopped short of saying the defense sets the tone for the Hornets, but knows that side of the ball has sparked a mistake-prone Fulton team.

"It's a team game," Kelley added. "Offensively, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot a few times and we have to clean that up, and we've done that in our games a few times.

"But when your defense plays well, your team is going to play well."

The Hornets' defense allowed all 13 of Moberly's points in the fourth quarter, but buckled down for key stops on Fulton's side of the field.

The Hornets' first two wins against Versailles and Missouri Military Academy, respectively, weren't much in doubt. Putting the Spartans away last week wasn't as easy of a task. Though its struggles were sometimes self-inflicted, Kelley hopes his squad took something from those tense 12 final minutes against Moberly.

"We have to learn from it, and I think in each game we've played, there's been a lot of lessons to learn," Kelley said. "The adversity we faced in the fourth quarter will help us down the road."

Meanwhile, Marshall (1-3, 1-1) is coming off its first win of the season last week - a 29-6 conference victory at Kirksville.

The Owls' offense showed remarkable balance, netting 143 yards through the air and 144 on the ground for a program normally known for its power running attack.

Junior quarterback Zach Maupin is in his second year guiding Marshall's split-back alignment. Kelley noted the 6-foot-3, 160-pound Maupin can pull the ball down and run, as evidenced by his 122 rushing yards and team-high four touchdown runs last week.

Sophomore running back Devin Cott (5-10, 200) ran for 119 yards and two scores at Kirksville. Cott paces Marshall in both carries (65) and rushing yards (301) this season.

The Owls' straightforward rushing scheme will be a departure from the zone-read presented by Moberly, an adjustment that Kelley knows his defensive line and linebackers will have to take into account.

"... We need to be ready and be really solid up front, and we're going to have to be able to shed blocks and get to the ball at the second level," Kelley said.

Marshall operates out of a 4-4 defensive alignment, the second week in a row Fulton has encountered the scheme. The Owls have size on the defensive line, but don't do much in terms of stunts, Kelley explained.

"Their line is really big and we're going to have to move guys out of the way and their linebackers play further off the ball," Kelley said. "I don't know about the stunting, but if I'm watching us, I'm sending people because that seems to give a young line trouble."

Kelley stressed the importance of building momentum from game to game. Taking and maintaining it on the road will be another test - and lesson - for the Hornets.

"Once again, it's a part of that process of going on the road and dealing with distractions that go along with that and playing well, and that's what we want to do," he said.