Fulton (2-4, 1-2 NCMC) - coming off a 42-14 conference loss at Hannibal last week - will seek a fourth straight victory over Boonville, which is leaving to join the Tri-County Conference next year. The Pirates (3-3, 1-2) suffered a surprising 27-6 NCMC home loss to Kirksville last week.
The Hornets pulled off a thrilling 22-20 victory at Boonville last year. Tonight's matchup has the potential to be another tight contest as the Pirates appear to be a mirror image of Fulton.
"They're similar to us in so many ways - they run a lot of spread (offense), 3-4 defense, a lot of the things we do," Hornets head coach Blake Logan said. "They're young and inexperienced, but they've won all their road games.
"They spoiled Mexico's Homecoming (a 24-21 NCMC victory Sept. 15), so they're going to look to do the same with us. We have to be ready and focused."
The similarities don't just stop there as Boonville employs some of the similar counter and power run plays that have become the signature of Fulton's offense.
The Pirates have run the ball more than 40 times in four games this season, including 61 carries for 270 yards in a 27-17 win Sept. 8 at home against Father Tolton.
Understanding the Hornets' depth will be tested tonight, Fulton's coaching staff has placed a major emphasis on maintaining focus and mental fortitude through fatigue after last week's loss at Hannibal.
The Hornets controlled most of the first half, but watched in dismay as a one-touchdown lead quickly eroded into a 14-point halftime deficit. A combination of turnovers, a costly penalty and shaky pass defense for Fulton in the red zone allowed Hannibal to reel off 21 unanswered points. Logan knows his team will have to avoid those same issues against another gritty Pirates squad.
"Boonville's a team that we feel like we can play with, but we have to execute and not shoot ourselves in the foot," Logan said. "It's hard to beat anybody with the amount of mistakes we make, let alone a good team like Hannibal."
Hannibal's option attack piled up 234 yards rushing and Boonville will attempt to replicate that success behind sophomore running back Avian Thomas and a collection of talented quarterbacks.
"They have (junior Malik Brazil) at quarterback and he's a pretty athletic kid," Logan said. "They have a big fullback (senior Ben Eichelberger) that will be hard to bring down and that'll challenge us in the second half.
"We saw Avian Thomas in the Jamboree and he's a home-run threat. He didn't play last week against Kirksville, but we're preparing to see him tonight."
The Pirates desperately missed Thomas' production (519 yards rushing, six touchdowns) last week. Boonville managed a meager 63 yards rushing and 158 total yards in the loss to the Tigers.
Eichelberger is the Pirates' second-leading rusher with just 147 yards. Senior Kole Ficken - who plays both running back and quarterback - is third with 131 yards rushing and second with five total touchdowns.
Boonville's passing game has been anemic to this point, averaging just 80 yards per game. The Pirates' quarterbacks have combined to throw just three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Thomas' status will be crucial tonight for Boonville, which doesn't seem to have the same explosiveness without him.
Defensively, the Pirates have been solid yet unspectacular, allowing an average of 23 points. Kirksville was the model of balance last week with 231 yards rushing and another 185 yards passing.
Boonville seldom generates big plays on defense, posting only three sacks and four interceptions this season. The Hornets will need senior quarterback Cameron Vaughn to resemble the player he was in the first half against Hannibal.
Vaughn converted a number of key third downs and threaded Hannibal's defense for two touchdowns before fatigue and the pass rush eventually forced him into two interceptions and a fumbled snap.
Against a team that doesn't thrive on forcing turnovers, Fulton must avoid giving the Boonville defense those momentum-changing plays. Opponents have capitalized this season on the Hornets' ball-control struggles and Hannibal scored touchdowns after three of Fulton's four turnovers.
"We have to clean up our mistakes and make sure we stay focused when we're exhausted," Logan said. "Moving forward, we just have to continue to focus on ourselves. Anytime we focus on the opponent, we begin making mistakes.
"It's tough enough with the lack of experience we have, but we just have to execute when we're tired."
One way the Hornets will look to ease Vaughn's workload is the continued assimilation of junior running back Taeon Logan back into the offense after being banged up for the past weeks.
After averaging close to 100 yards on just 15 carries through the first three games of the season, Logan has been limited to nine carries and 47 yards over the past three weeks.
With senior wide receiver Nazir McClain emerging as a dynamic perimeter threat, the Fulton offense could return to early-season form if it can get Logan back on track.
Whatever Boonville might lack in defensive explosiveness, it certainly makes up for with its discipline and solid linebacking corps. Eichelberger tops Boonville with 78 tackles and sophomore middle linebacker Josh Polk has six tackles for losses, one sack, an interception and two fumble recovers.
Not to be outdone, junior outside linebacker Brandon Johnson is second for the Pirates in overall tackles and tackles for loss with 60 and six, respectively.
With such a quality opponent scheduled for Homecoming, Blake Logan is optimistic the Hornets will avoid the pitfalls of the numerous festivities and remain focused on what the week is all about.
"We just reminded the kids that this whole week is celebratory of the football game," Logan said. "We can't get distracted by the purpose of the week. Seniors just have four games left promised and that's what we've stressed.
"You can't eliminate every distraction, but we'll just have to minimize them to the best of our ability."
Related media:
Fulton Hornets Football Podcast [Boonville preview, Sept. 29, 2017]