Fulton Hornets head football coach Pat Kelley saw two big things out of his defense in last week's jamboree scrimmages at Blair Oaks.
Kelley saw a young group; one eager to run, hit and do anything necessary to stop a big play. He also saw one that's going to take time to gel and truly play up to their capabilities.
"They're young, obviously they're young, but they're aggressive," Kelley said Wednesday afternoon. "I think they were shell shocked a bit (at the jamboree) with how fast things moved, but they ran downhill."
And that was only 24 plays. It'll be that fast for Fulton's defense - sporting eight new starters - for four quarters in tonight's season opener on the road against the School of the Osage Indians. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Much of the Hornets defense that gave up 273 rushing yards in a 47-0 loss to this same Osage team to open the 2010 season is gone. However, the core of the Indians' offense that put up those statistics is back in 2011.