Fulton Hornets head coach Pat Kelley referred to tonight's opponent - the Missouri Military Academy Colonels - as a bit of an unknown.
Kelley attributed that mystery to the fact the Colonels opened their season a week late, thus there not being much to scout.
The only question the Hornets have right now may be which offensive skill player will step up with a career-best performance as Fulton running back Travis Dean and wide receivers Radarion Glover and Isaac Franklin have the last two weeks.
The answer could come when the Hornets return to Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium tonight to take on M.M.A. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Colonels opened their season on the rough side of a 40-0 thumping at Van-Far last week.
Fulton (2-0) had no such trouble last week, pulling its starters in the second half of a 56-22 blitz at Versailles. The Hornets logged 35 of their 49 first-half points in the second quarter and registered scores on defense and special teams.
"I knew we played well and we did," Kelley said. "There are some things I'd like for us to do better, but we took care of the football again - minus one play. We did a nice job there; we did a nice job controlling the fronts on both sides."
Glover - who broke loose on a 53-yard punt return for a touchdown in that furious second quarter - was held without a reception after the senior collected four catches for 73 yards and two scores in Fulton's 33-21 season-opening win against School of the Osage.
No problems there, though, as Franklin stepped up to haul in a pair of touchdown catches on his way to 88 yards on three receptions. The 6-foot-1-inch junior logged a 51-yard catch-and-run for the score from junior quarterback Devin Masek on the Hornets' first offensive snap.
Masek and Franklin hooked up again in the second quarter on a 14-yard scoring toss. Masek threw three touchdowns and connected on 6-of-9 passes for 173 yards and an interception, while running for 36 yards on three carries in his third career varsity start.
"You could tell he was a little bit more comfortable, a little bit more confident, particularly on the zone reads," Kelley said. "He ran the ball a lot better, made better reads on that. ... He played a great game."
The Fulton defense, meanwhile, delivered another strong performance of its own. Senior free safety Andy Baysinger supplied the Hornets' second interception return for a touchdown in as many weeks with his 39-yard score, while Fulton's defensive front hounded Versailles senior quarterback Duane Danner for three sacks.
"... We rushed him, we didn't let him get comfortable and to his credit, he's an athlete and more times than not a quarterback should be able to outrun your defensive ends," Kelley said.
Junior Sean Fitzgerald (5-foot-9, 165 pounds) guides M.M.A.'s double-wing and single-back sets. Senior Cody Allen (5-8, 145) and freshman Christian Cosner (5-10, 185) will get the bulk of the carries, though the limited footage Kelley's seen of the Colonels shows a team that puts the ball in the air a bit more than in years past.
"They've got athletes," Kelley said. "... It's one of those things that we don't have a lot of tape on them so it's hard to get some tendencies on them."
M.M.A.'s 3-5-3 defense allowed 326 yards rushing yards and three touchdowns against Van-Far.
"They like to bring guys off the edge, so we're going to have to keep our heads up and be concerned with that," Kelley said.
Fulton blanked M.M.A. 28-0 last season in a game halted at halftime due to lightning.
The Hornets have outscored the Colonels 124-13 in their last three meetings.
That said, Kelley isn't letting Fulton's decisive edge in the series distract the Hornets from pursuing their second straight 3-0 start.
"(The start) is one thing, maintaining your points in districts is another," Kelley said. "... We have to get off to a good start (tonight) and see what happens."
Fulton hosts M.M.A. - Updates on Twitter: @FultonSunSports.
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