FULTON - After giving up a 70-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last Friday at Hannibal, Fulton coach Trey Barrow made a rather cut-and-dried request of the Hornets.
"We had scored to make it 14-12, and we went and kicked off and they ran it back for a touchdown," Barrow recalled. "I said, 'Hey guys, it looks like it's going to be a high-scoring game tonight. Let's go make a play happen.'"
Making plays happen isn't something the Hornets struggle to do. They've made enough - on both sides of the ball - to fill highlight reels and produce stats. But those long gains and momentum shifts haven't translated to what really matters: wins.
Fulton (1-5) hopes those pivotal plays start to translate into victories in the final third of the regular season. The Hornets return to Robert E. Fisher Stadium to host the Southeast Knights at 7 p.m. tonight.
Long scores gave and took Fulton's momentum in last week's 69-20 North Central Missouri Conference loss at Hannibal. Before the aforementioned special-teams breakdown, Fulton kept within one score of the Pirates, thanks to a pair of lengthy touchdown passes by freshman quarterback Courtland Simmons.
After the Hornets recovered a fumble in their own red zone, Simmons and senior running back Zaylin McNeil connected on a 91-yard scoring play. Two possessions later, Simmons found junior wide receiver AJ Henderson on essentially the exact same call for a 61-yard touchdown pass.
"I think that big plays like that, it doesn't matter if it's offensive or defensive, it builds the momentum for your team," Barrow said. "We get going and the guys get excited when big plays happen.
"It helps them on both sides of the ball knowing that no matter what, you're one play away from a big momentum swing and changing the way that the game's going."
As mentioned before, however, those significant plays cut both ways. On top allowing the kickoff return for a score, the Fulton defense couldn't contain the chunk running plays from the Hannibal offense that either prolonged drives or resulted in touchdowns.The Hornets have been on the right and wrong side of those plays in all five of their losses and their lone win against Moberly. When those less-than-advantageous scenarios occur, Barrow uses it to challenge his squad.
"I just say to them, 'Yeah, everyone knows we've messed up there, move past it right now and go make a play,'" Barrow said. "Physical mistakes happen in football. You're going to drop a pass from time to time when you're wide open, you're going to throw an interception, you're going to miss a block, you're going to miss a tackle.
"That's not the end of the world. It's not the end of the game right now. Go out and make a play right here."
There are plays to be made. In its win against Moberly, Fulton forced a trio of fourth-quarter turnovers and logged touchdown plays of 84 and 94 yards in the first half. Quick-strike plays such as those will be key to a fast start tonight against Southeast, something Barrow wants his Hornets to achieve.
The Knights (0-6) are coming off a 36-22 loss to Central Academy of Kansas City last Friday. But it was the Hornets' encounter with Southeast last season in Kansas City that is prompting Barrow to want to hit early and often.
Southeast carried a 20-0 lead through three quarters before Fulton tallied 13 points in the final 12 minutes. The Hornets were driving toward a potential game-tying drive when time ran out.
The one-score loss dropped Fulton to 0-7, but it served as a glimpse into that iteration's potential.
"We were down 20-0 at halftime, and it's like we flipped the switch and said, 'What are we doing? We can play with these guys,'" Barrow said. "And then we came out and made it 20-13. And then on the last play of the game, we caught a ball on their 20-yard line and we were weaving, trying to go score to win the ball game.
"Southeast is a team that we've got to jump out early on. We have to be prepared, we've got to be ready to go and jump on them from play one."
And if that quick jump doesn't happen, Barrow believes one player will respond to spark momentum or right the ship.
"I think it's coming down to a guy. I don't know who it's going to be. It could be anybody. But somebody needs to step up and and say, 'Enough is enough. It stops right now, I'm going to make the next play,'" Barrow said. "And I think once we get our whole team thinking like that and everyone wants to be that guy that's going to step up and make a play, that's when I think we'll reach that next level."
Related Media: Fulton Hornets Football Podcast [Southeast preview, Oct. 11, 2019]