Hannibal Ranked No. 5 Faces Fulton Hornets

Once the Hannibal Pirates settled down after they got behind in the first half in Jefferson City against Helias they have been really, really good. Since getting their sea legs, the Pirates are outscoring opponents 141-29 and are currently ranked fifth in Missouri class 4.

Hannibal High School

Hannibal high school/Google Street View

Friday night at Porter Stadium, Hannibal hosts the Fulton Hornets. The Pirates have dominated Fulton in recent years, outscoring the Hornets over the last five years by an average score of 61-7. The last time Fulton beat Hannibal was in 2007. The last time Fulton had a winning season was 2015.

Fulton High School

Fulton Mo. high school/Google Street View

Fulton has brought in a new regime in the form of veteran Missouri high school football coach Roger VanDeZande who was previously at Russellville, Fayette and Southern Boone high schools. Coach VanDeZande’s plan is for Fulton to get gritty. In recent years the Hornets haven’t been competitive on the field. Three weeks into the campaign that has already changed. While going 1-2, Fulton hasn’t lost (or won) by more than a touchdown and an extra point. Believe it or not that’s progress.

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Coach VanDeZande will want to run the ball at the Pirates with Junior quarterback Cooper Hrabovsky and Senior running backs Preston Wilder and Chris Pittman. Should the Hornets want to switch it up Hrabovsky will look to buzz the ball to Senior wingback Jaden Galbreath and Senior tight end Aiden Fleetwood.

Porter Stadium - Hannibal, Mo.

Porter stadium Hannibal/Google Street View/Canva

The Pirates will again turn to Kade Hoskins, Landyn Essig and Darrion Washington to establish the run with Wyeth Dorsey leading the attack under center. Coach Jeff Gschwender will turn loose a stout Pirate defense upon Fulton. Will this game finish in a shutout like last season? Will Hannibal score over 60? Or will Fulton build to be competitive? The Pirates are certainly the most difficult test for this Fulton team thus far in 2025. Follow the action starting at 6:30pm for the pregame, kickoff at 7pm on 97.9 KICK-FM.