Fulton falls to Hannibal 56-19 in league opener

Slow and steady nearly won the Fulton Hornets the first quarter of their North Central Missouri Conference opener against the Hannibal Pirates. But once the Pirates got going, The Pirates made sure the ensuing frames weren't quite so methodical and used a blistering scoring pace to break the game open.

The Hornets fell on the wrong side of 49-unanswered Hannibal points in dropping a 56-19 decision to Hannibal on Friday night at Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium.

"I thought we showed up, first drive, first quarter we showed up," Fulton head coach Trey Barrow said. "Hannibal outlasted us, though, and really that second quarter killed us. It was a lot of things we did to ourselves."

While the lopsided outcome - the fourth in as many outings for Fulton in 2020 - the first nine minutes showed glimpses of a Hornet team primed to end a 12-game losing streak to the Pirates.

The Hornets (0-4, 0-1 NCMC) took kickoff and constructed a drive that ate up the bulk of the first-quarter clock thanks to a pair of fourth-down conversions. Fulton first extended the drive on a 13-yard, fourth-down scamper by sophomore quarterback Courtland Simmons. Eight plays later, junior Josh Dunmire took a fourth-and-goal carry from the Hannibal 3 into the end zone to put the Hornets ahead 7-0.

In total, Fulton held the ball for 8 minutes, 57 seconds to cap off their 16-play, 77-yard march, success Barrow attributes to inspired offensive line play.

"Everything was working," Barrow said. "I thought the O-line, as a whole, looked better than it had in the past. Everyone knew their assignments, so I think it started up front if the line is on the right page and Courtland can get outside or the line provides good protection, good things can happen."

Hannibal (3-0, 1-0 NCMC) needed eight fewer minutes and a quarter of the plays to tie the game. The Pirates began each of their first-half possessions in Hornet territory, needing just four plays to cover 46 yards and tie the game on a 4-yard run by senior running back Damien French.

A first-down sack of Simmons put the Fulton offense in a hole on its next drive and forced a three-and-out. Starting at the Hornet 40, Hannibal constructed another 4-play drive that culminated in a 20-yard scoring pass by junior Courtland Watson to senior wide receiver Drake Dudley to give the Pirates a 14-7 edge :05 into the second quarter.

The Hannibal defense continued to apply edge pressure to disrupt Simmons and it paid dividends when it recovered a fumble at the Hornets' 36. Five plays later, junior Andre Thomas extended the Pirate lead to two scores on a 6-yard run.

Hannibal widened its gap on a Fulton special team gaffe when freshman Ayneas Williams scooped up a short punt and ran it back 35 yards for a score.

"We were trying to hit a rollout and (sophomore punter Josh Reams) just hit it wrong, and I think he was just thinking 'Ah, I shanked that,' instead of 'I have to cover that,'" Barrow said. "I was yelling, 'Cover it! Cover It!' and the Hannibal kid realized it before we did and scooped it and scored."

Following a 24-yard touchdown pass from Watson to senior Joey Worthington, the Pirates closed out their first-half scoring by scooping up a fumble and returning it 10 yards to send the Hornets into halftime down 42-7.

In all, Hannibal used just 14 offensive snaps and two non-offensive touchdowns to build its lead.

"Hannibal's offense is really good and they have a lot of dynamic players and a good line," Barrow said. "We just have to do our best to get our defense off the field. We have a lot of things we need to fix."

French and Thomas added runs of 41 and 5 yards, respectively, after intermission to wrap up Pirate scoring. Simmons scored on second-half runs of 75 and 3 yards, finishing with a game high 174 yards on 15 carries.

Fulton continues league play at home against Moberly next week. The Spartans blanked Kirksville 27-0 on Friday night.