FULTON - Two weeks, two losses and two downed quarterbacks.
That's Trey Barrow's reality almost a third of the way through his first season as the Fulton Hornets' head coach.
Barrow will not, however, let that fact jade team morale or be a dimming light for what he believes the Hornets can become.
"We're going to do our best to keep moving forward, stay positive and keep building. Because, yeah, we want to win every game we play," Barrow said. "But I want to build a culture where I don't care who we're playing, what the score is, or what's happening - we're going to keep going and the game will take care of itself."
Fulton (0-2) can shift the season's trajectory in that direction when it begins North Central Missouri Conference play tonight at home against the Kirksville Tigers (1-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium.
With seniors Evan Gray and Tyler Sayler and freshman Woodrow Foster all unavailable at quarterback, senior wide receiver Garrett Johnson was thrust into action in a 54-7 loss to Southern Boone in the Hornets' home opener last week. Johnson was intercepted three times and netted minus-2 yards passing for an out-of-sorts offense that gained just 44 total yards
That said, Johnson's numbers didn't tell the story of his improvement throughout the game, according to Barrow.
"He understands a lot more about how the offense is run," Barrow said. "I'd ideally not like that to happen during a game, but fortunately he has some live-game reps against an opponent and hopefully he builds on that."
Barrow praised Johnson's positivity and how much he embraced the unique circumstances surrounding his debut under center. Johnson is expected to remain at quarterback tonight, though senior John Holtkamp got reps in practice at backup.
"We now have to rep them equally in the event that we need to be prepared," Barrow said.
Whoever runs the offense tonight will likely face a Kirksville defense packed tightly in the box and daring the Hornets to throw. The Tigers forced five turnovers - including three interceptions - and allowed just 97 yards of offense in a 41-0 shutout of Chillicothe last week.
Barrow expects the Tigers to employ some of the same tactics Southern Boone used against Fulton.
Kirksville's defense is a 3-3 scheme, though the Tigers will walk up additional linebackers on the outside. Barrow knows that the various alignments Kirksville has at its disposal mean a couple of things - the Hornets will need to be extra prepared and avoid negative passing yards.
"We're going to do what we do, attack it and find our strengths and their weaknesses, and exploit it," Barrow said. "Hopefully we can throw the ball a little bit and time pre-snap blitzes.
"If we do our jobs, we should be able to cover."
Though their schematic philosophies didn't exactly align, School of the Osage and Southern Boone each presented formidable rushing approaches for Fulton to defend in its first two games. The Tigers, meanwhile, bring a more balanced attack than the Hornets have seen so far.
Kirksville's offense is triggered by junior quarterback Paxton Dempsay, who completed 19-of-31 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns against Chillicothe. Dempsay's night could have been even bigger had a holding penalty not wiped away a 93-yard scoring pass, which is proof Kirksville coach Conrad Schottel isn't afraid to let his starter go downfield.
"He's flinging that ball where he wants to, he's got a big arm, he's smart and it'll be a different test for us this week," Barrow said. "More so, (it'll be a) passing (test) on our defensive backs, which they're excited about."
The running skill Dempsay has on the perimeter and in the backfield presents its own set of challenges. Barrow tagged Kirksville senior running back Colton Gillespie a "bruiser," a label he backed up with 105 yards and three touchdowns against Chillicothe.
Seniors Tanner Lain and Blake Morgan did the bulk of the pass-catching in Week 2 for Kirksville, combining to collect all but three of Dempsay's completions.
Lain finished with 118 yards and two touchdowns on nine catches, while Morgan tallied seven receptions for 146 yards.
"They have some quick hitters, they go downfield, they have an H-back who can go out in the flats - they're balanced in how they attack you," Barrow said. "We have to be ready for anything. We'll need to be quick, lock on our zones, and stick with our men. As a defense, we need to be as prepared as possible pre-snap."
Nothing prepared the Hornets for what they'd face in their first two games. Barrow won't use that as an excuse, though.
"We need to mentally come out with a mindset that we're ready to play this game and dominate up front," Barrow said.