The setting will be familiar, but the Fulton Hornets are hoping for a different outcome.
For the third year in a row, No. 4 seed Fulton (5-5) will travel tonight to top-seeded Blair Oaks (9-0) - ranked second in the state - to face the Falcons in the Class 3, District 6 semifinals. Kickoff is 7 p.m. in Wardsville.
Blair Oaks has ended Fulton's season each of the past two years. The Falcons rolled to a 52-14 semifinal rout of the Hornets in 2014, then rallied in the fourth quarter last year and pulled away for a 48-29 win for the District 6 title.
"We went up last year and gave them a head start early, but then we went up 21-7 and made a couple mistakes," Fulton head coach Pat Kelley said during Tuesday afternoon's practice. "We were still winning at halftime and just let it get away from us in the second half.
"We obviously have our work cut out for us again."
Kelley and his squad haven't reflected much on last year's loss.
"We haven't talked a lot about it. It was a different team and they're a different team," Kelley said. "We have to go in there with what we do and hopefully continue playing well on offense and we're really close on defense, and if we shore things up there, that would help us."
Kelley said he was a little more pleased with the Hornets' 50-28 first-round win at home over fifth-seeded Winfield last week after he reviewed the game film on Saturday. Blair Oaks earned a first-round bye and did not play.
"We obviously played very well on offense and did a lot of good things. Defensively, I wasn't nearly as frustrated Saturday morning watching the tape as I was Friday night," Kelley said. "The kid (Winfield sophomore quarterback Collin Sutton) was good."
Sutton produced 449 yards of total offense and accounted for three touchdowns.
"You just have to tip your cap on some of the plays he made," Kelley said. "Obviously you don't want to give up 28 points, but we tried to intercept a ball on a fourth-and-25 rather than just knock it down and that cost us a touchdown.
"On his highlight-reel run at the end (a 39-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter), it was hard to tackle him. Hats off to him."
Fulton will be confronted by a Blair Oaks offense that is averaging 42.3 points per game and is led by 5-foot-9, 170-pound sophomore quarterback Nolan Hair. Hair has passed for 1,841 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has rushed for just 178 yards but has nine scores on the ground.
" He does a great job handling the offense," Kelley said.
Hair's main targets are senior wide receiver Cody Alexander (5-10, 175), sophomore wide receiver Ben Thomas (5-8, 150) and sophomore running back Brayden Pritchett (5-10, 170).
Alexander has 35 catches for 515 yards and six touchdowns, while Thomas has 34 receptions for 472 yards and seven scores on 34 catches. Pritchett also has 32 catches for 459 yards and eight touchdowns.
Kelley explained that the Falcons also utilitize Alexander out of the backfield, where he's compiled 230 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Blair Oak's biggest threat on the ground, though, is senior running back Jake Van Ronzelen (5-11, 180), who has gained 1,194 yards and scored 12 touchdowns.
"They are a running team like we used to be, where they spread it out and then run the ball on the inside," Kelley said. "They have two good running backs, their guys (offensive linemen) get off the ball quickly and make seams for them - those backs are able to get inside those seams.
"They are primarily out of the shotgun or pistol sets, and they're going to run the zone plays, counter plays, some lead plays, and the quarterback does a great job as well. They also have some pass plays where they lull you to sleep playing the run, and run those guys (wide receivers) down the sideline."
Kelley said the Falcons' offensive line could cause problems for the Hornets' defense, which is giving up 260.8 yards rushing per game.
"Their skill guys are quick, but their offensive line - just like their defensive line - aren't the quickest guys, but they come off the ball hard, get on you, move their feet and try to get in your way," Kelley said. "If we don't play our assignments (on defense) and let ourselves get moved around, it'll be a long game."
Kelley noted that the Falcons are also fast on the defensive side, which is allowing just 163.8 yards and 10.4 points per game.
"They are quick in the defensive backfield and they have a great pass rush," Kelley said. "The best pass defense in the world is being able to sack the quarterback. So again, we have our work cut out for us."
Blair Oaks is led by junior linebacker Drew Boessen (6-2, 190) and senior linebacker Brendon Brown (5-7, 135). Boessen has recorded 80 tackles, three fumble recoveries and a sack this season, while Brown has 76 tackles.
Kelley emphasized that the Falcons' 5-2 defense is good at penetrating the backfield and will probably be a handful for the Hornets' offensive line.
"They come after you, they don't make a lot of adjustments," Kelley said. "From the tapes we've seen and the people we talk to, that's what they've done all year.
"With seven guys in the box and we have five, that's truly a task."
With the Hornets' difficulties in running the ball, they will be looking for another strong outing from senior quarterback Devin Masek tonight. Masek threw for 295 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions last week, bringing his season totals to 2,378 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
"We've talked about Devin all year, he's done a great job," Kelley said. "We have definitely thrown more this year than we normally have, but his completion rate is higher than it was last year.
"His yards are higher than they were last year and his touchdowns were higher than they were last year."
Junior wide receivers L'Trevion Vaughn and Makygh Galbreath have emerged as Masek's primary pass-catchers following injuries to senior wide receivers Alec Fleetwood and Isaac Franklin. Galbreath tallied eight catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns last week, while Vaughn had six grabs for 129 yards and a score.
Kelley is hoping for another big performance from both players tonight.
"It's the next-man-up philosophy. Tre's done a nice job and they've both done a nice job all year," Kelley said. "We've had four quality receivers out there for seven weeks and Isaac, Alec and Tre were probably within 10 catches of each other, and Makygh was the odd guy out.
"He and Tre have had to step up, and it was probably the first time we had two 100-yard receivers in the same game."
No. 3 seed Southern Boone (8-2) hosts No. 7 Christian (2-8) in tonight's other District 5 semifinal.
Fulton at Blair Oaks
Updates on Twitter: @actionjaxon05
Listen live online: midmosportsonline.com