Keep this in mind when considering Fulton head coach Pat Kelley's thoughts - in his 19th season at the helm - on the Hornets' performance against the Versailles Tigers.
"That was about the best first half that I've had a team play," Kelley said.
Seven touchdowns during that span - including scores on defense and special teams - and a 35-point eruption in the second quarter warrant that sort of statement.
Fulton scored quick and often on its way to a 56-22 throttling of Versailles on Friday night.
Earlier last week, Kelley maintained that the Hornets (2-0) needed to urgently come out of the gate in order to avoid the late-game dramatics that have plagued previous clashes with the Tigers in Versailles.
Set up at their own 49-yard line following a punt by the Tigers on their opening series, the Hornets dialed up a play to hopefully spark such a start.
Junior quarterback Devin Masek drew Versailles in on a play-action fake on first down and lofted a pass down the Fulton sideline to junior wide receiver Isaac Franklin.
Well behind the Tigers' defender, Franklin collected the ball in stride and coasted into the end zone for a 51-yard scoring strike with 9 minutes, 55 seconds left in the first quarter.
"It's a play where we take the dash and have max protection on the edge, where both the running back and the dash back have max protection, and hope that the fake draws the corner up on the dash and it did," Kelley said. "Isaac was able to make the catch and the run - nice run and nice play."
Masek followed another Versailles punt with a 20-yard scramble into Tigers territory to start the next Fulton drive. A play later, though, Versailles junior defensive back David Connor intercepted Masek and returned it to the Hornets' 48.
The miscue was a blip for Masek, who completed 6-of-9 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns.
Three plays after Connor's pick, Tigers senior running back Dalton Schmidt caught a flare pass from senior quarterback Duane Danner and maneuvered 26 yards down the Versailles sideline for a touchdown to tie the game with 6:56 to go in the quarter.
Fulton then answered when senior back Travis Dean capped off a five-play, 63-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown run up the middle. The first of Dean's three scores helped the Hornets regain the lead at 14-7 with :15.3 left in the quarter.
"We got off to a great start but, to their credit, they answered," Kelley said. "But I feel like we controlled the line of scrimmage. We gave away the long drive with seven points, but after that we played strong defense."
The Fulton defense was responsible for its second score in as many weeks when senior strong safety Andy Baysinger tipped and returned Danner's bubble-screen pass 39 yards for a touchdown just :09 into the second quarter.
"... When you play assignment football and you do your assignment, good things will happen," Kelley said.
Good things looked to happen for Dean and the Hornets' special teams on a punt by the Tigers from their own 47. Dean fielded the kick at his 18, slithered through the coverage and broke free for an apparent 82-yard touchdown return.
The play, however, was negated on an illegal block by Fulton, an infraction that resulted in a near 20-minute delay while medics tended to an injured Versailles player.
"You hate to see that; our thoughts and prayers are with that kid," Kelley said. "But we talked about how we still had to play football and had a chance to go up there 28-7."
The ball was placed at the Hornets' 40 when play resumed and Fulton established that three-touchdown cushion four plays later on Masek and Franklin's second scoring connection of the game. Masek rolled out and delivered a 14-yard toss to Franklin right at the goal line with 4:57 remaining in the half.
With senior wide receiver Radarion Glover grabbing defensive attention after two touchdown catches against Osage last week, Franklin made the most of his chances by finishing with a game-high 88 yards on three catches.
"We knew - and why wouldn't they - they'd key on Bubba (Glover) and key on Travis," Kelley said. "It took a while early and then we were able to break a few and get through."
Glover finished without a catch, but returned a punt 53 yards for a touchdown with 4:01 to go before halftime. Schmidt - punting for Versailles - scrambled to recover the high snap and got the kick off just before the Hornets' rush caved in on him. Glover fielded the kick on a bounce, reversed field toward his own sideline and raced to the end zone to push Fulton ahead 35-7.
Dean broke loose for a 63-yard touchdown run, then took a screen pass 25 yards to the end zone to cap off the Hornets' second-quarter onslaught. He led all players with 131 yards rushing on just eight carries.
Sophomore running back Ammod Davis plowed in for a 4-yard touchdown run late in the game to close out Fulton's scoring. The Hornets gained 191 yards on 26 carries and racked up 411 yards of total offense.
Fulton returns home this week to host Missouri Military Academy. The Colonels were clobbered by Van-Far 40-0 in their season opener Friday night.