MOBERLY AT HANNIBAL
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: E.A. Porter Stadium, Hannibal, Mo.
Records: Moberly -- 5-0 (3-0 North Central Missouri Conference). Hannibal -- 2-1 (2-0 NCMC).
Coaches: Moberly -- Jason Ambroson (42-40 at Moberly, eighth season; overall, same). Hannibal -- Mark St. Clair (91-34, 12th season; overall, same).
Last meeting: Sept. 14, 2007 -- Moberly 39, Hannibal 22. The Pirates lost to Moberly for the first time since 1986 in dropping their NCMC opener on the road. Moberly quarterback Caleb Lewis threw for five touchdowns, while Hannibal's John Anderson had a career-high 183 yards on 25 carries.
As the fans see it: According to those registered for the "Are You Smarter Than The Sports Guys?" contest at www.whig.com, 59 percent favor Hannibal.
Title time?: There's still plenty of season left, but the winner of Friday's game will have an inside track to the NCMC crown. The Spartans are the defending league champs and have won 12 straight league contest dating back to a 2006 loss at Porter Stadium, a 12-7 Pirates win.
"We're pretty confident, but it's going to be a tough game," Hannibal senior left tackle Derek Hicks said. "People know that this is going to be for the conference championship. If we can do our best job, I think we'll come out successful."
While Hannibal is lurking on the outside of the Class 4 rankings, Moberly comes in ranked third in Class 3.
Blanks, defense: The Pirates' shutout of Boonville last week was their first since the 2006 season. Hannibal's last shutout came in the Class 4 state semifinals, a 6-0 victory at Farmington. It was the first time in 15 games the Pirates had tossed a shutout.
Key matchup: Hannibal's defensive backs vs. Moberly wide receiver David Tooley. The Pirates will need to keep tabs on Tooley, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound senior. Projected as a Division I recruit, Tooley scored three TDs last year against Hannibal.
"He creates mismatches everywhere he goes," St. Clair said. "There is no one on our team with his size and speed. We have to take care of him."
St. Clair said the Spartans will not only split Tooley out, but they'll run reverses with him as well as utilize him on their punt and kick return teams.
-- Don O'Brien
