Things didn't go well for Fulton straight from the opening kickoff at Hannibal.
The Hornets allowed the Pirates to score on an 80-yard kick return to start the game and then were buried in the first quarter as Fulton lost 62-12.
Hannibal's Markahl Humphrey gave the Pirates (4-0, 1-0 NCMC) the early 7-0 lead and then that turned into a 34-0 game before the whistle to end the first quarter was blown. The Pirates would add another touchdown on special teams on an Aneyas Williams 55-yard punt return.
Head coach Dana Chambers said Fulton (0-3, 0-1 NCMC) was trying a new special teams unit this week to give starters more of a chance to rest, and the play in that area should never be overlooked because those could be instant momentum killers, as was proven tonight.
"We didn't get off blocks and make tackles," Chambers said. "When you leave the middle of field open or you allow a guy to break the contain, that's what happens. It sucks the life out of a team when you let somebody run the opening kickoff back, and we never really recovered from that."
Obviously, Chambers said allowing the opening kickoff to score is not the way his team wants to start a game or how it should expect to start a game. Most of the time, the returner is taken down in his own territory so the defense can make the other team earn those yards. It truly was a "letdown" that it didn't happen that way, but Chambers said that really shows that special teams can't be overlooked and effort needs to brought in that aspect of the game as well.
Humphrey added two scores on the ground as part of his three touchdowns on 122 yards and 13 carries. Fulton junior Dustin Hagens was picked off about a minute after the punt return, and the Pirates secondary returned that for another score to cement a 62-0 halftime score.
The performance Friday could be summed up by a lack of focus, Chambers said, as the Hornets need to be better at playing with a "one snap at a time" mindset to not let big plays on special teams happen or to prevent a game from snowballing so quickly.
"I think we should have that mindset regardless if we are winning or we're losing," he said. "It doesn't matter what happened the play before. You have to go out again whether the play was good our bad, and you have to line up again and do your job every play. You can't dwell on the good or the bad. You have to move on to the next play."
Fulton ended the night scoring its least amount of points and allowing the most amount of points three games into this season but would get something going in its first possession of the third quarter. Hagens was able to cap off a drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to junior Walker Gohring to finally give Fulton some points. Later in the half, senior Brynn Bynum was able to score on a screen pass to round out the scoring in the game.
Chambers said he wants the Hornets to be able to look back on a game like this and see how they've grown. Before they get there, though, much work must be done, starting next week when Fulton prepares to make a trip to Moberly (0-4, 0-1 NCMC).
"We're not where we need to be as a team. We're not where we need to be as an offense. We're not where we need to be as a defense," Chambers said. "We need to be dialed in at all times. Whether we're on the practice field or if we're in the meeting room, we need to be focused on what we need to do and get it done."
Fulton will stay in the North Central Missouri Conference next week when it travels to Moberly.