FULTON, Mo. - The Fulton Hornets checked off nearly every box, except the most notable one, in Blake Logan's first game as head coach.
Fulton's offensive line - facing the most questions coming into the 2017 season - was physical and matched up favorably with a rugged School of the Osage defensive front as the Hornets rushed for 226 yards.
Quarterback play? Fulton senior quarterback Cameron Vaughn - making his first-ever start at the position - put on a show by producing 207 total yards and three touchdowns. The Hornets even excelled most of the night on defense by winning the turnover battle.
However, Fulton's best efforts were offset by three turnovers of its own and the defense wore down on Osage's final drive as the Indians snuck away from Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium with a season-opening 36-28 victory last week.
"Our offensive line stepped up and played extremely well. We expected their front to be extremely aggressive and we handled them very well with pass protection and the run game," Logan said. "Defensively, our secondary played well for the most part of the game, but the offensive line is what jumped out to us on film."
Logan and the Hornets will look to clean up their execution and build on the strong performance of the offensive line when they make their first road trip of the season to Versailles tonight to clash with the Tigers. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
Including Vaughn's 137 yards rushing, Fulton sophomore running back Taeon Logan turned in a strong effort against Osage with 82 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 carries. Versailles allowed more than 300 yards on the ground in its 51-30 win against Knob Noster in last week's opener, so there's a chance both Vaughn and Logan could have another big night if the excellent line play continues.
One way to ensure the Hornets' run game continues to thrive is to become more balanced and challenge the Tigers' secondary. Fulton employed two other quarterbacks in addition to Vaughn last week - junior Evan Gray and sophomore Tyler Sayler.
The trio completed 11-of-22 passes for just 105 yards, but Logan expects Vaughn will be the primary option under center going forward. Vaughn was 7-of-14 for 70 yards.
"I wanted to give all three of them an opportunity in Week 1. We know what Cam gave us, so I wanted to see what the other two could bring to the table," Logan said. "I think we saw a little bit of what they could do, but when Cam was fresh he gave us the best ability at a big play.
"When you have a quarterback like that, that can run, it's just one more person in the box the defense has to account for."
If Logan can get Vaughn's arm to match his running ability, an already potent offense could be taken to new heights with a wide receiver group that can flash big-play potential. Senior receiver Makygh Galbreath topped Fulton last week with six catches for 58 yards and fellow senior receiver Tre Vaughn had three receptions for 39 yards.
Versailles wasn't challenged much by Knob Noster's passing attack last week and while Logan expects to see a two-high safety look from the Tigers tonight, he knows teams will soon start stacking the box to force Cam Vaughn to do damage from the pocket.
Defensively, coordinator Teneil Stevenson's unit will have another tough test after facing Osage's varied offensive attack. Versailles piled up 555 yards of total offense against Knob Noster, including 339 on the ground.
The move of sophomore Coby Williams from wide receiver to quarterback paid off in a huge way for Tigers head coach Broc Silvers. Williams completed all nine of his passes last week for 216 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Kooper Wilson was Williams' primary target as he racked up five catches for 138 yards and two scores.
Not to be outdone, senior running back Taylor Dobbins wore down Knob Noster with nearly 250 yards rushing and two touchdowns. How Silvers plans on attacking the Fulton defense will be key in tonight's game. The Tigers possess a skilled receiver group, but they'll have to contend with a buzzing Hornets secondary that tormented Osage.
Cam Vaughn moonlighted at free safety and picked off two of senior quarterback Zach Wheeler's passes, while Galbreath - from his cornerback spot - locked down his side of the field with five tackles, a pass break-up and a near-interception that was ruled out of bounds.
In Williams' second start at quarterback for Versailles, it might not be wise to challenge the secondary, especially after the Hornets surrendered 227 yards rushing to Osage. Fulton's front seven - anchored by senior middle linebacker LeCheyon Williams' nine tackles - didn't allow many big plays on the ground, but the Indians opted to forego attacking through the air as the game wore on.
Instead, Osage turned to a more traditional I-formation attack. On the game-clinching 19-play, 90-yard drive to secure the win, the Indians rushed the ball 15 times for 72 yards and exhausted the Hornets in the process.
Logan and Stevenson hope to correct that tonight by spelling more members of the defense on special teams and not putting the unit in tricky situations.
"We had far too many turnovers on offense last week. So we want to make sure we execute and aren't giving them short fields," Logan said. "Defensively, we'll have to make sure we don't let them convert third-and-long situations."
Williams and senior lineman Colton Bristol will have to muster up the defense to prepare for another challenge on the ground against the Tigers. Whoever is more physical at the point of attack and rushes for more yards has a good chance of being the team that comes out on top tonight.
"We've been preaching 1-0 all summer and trying to go 1-0 every week," Logan said. "They're 1-0, so we want to get our first win and give them their first loss. They're a team we can compete with, but we just want to make sure we clean up most of the mistakes we made last week.
"We can't make it easy on them with short fields and turnovers, because they've proven they can score points."
Related podcast:
Fulton Hornets Football Podcast [Versailles preview, Aug. 25, 2016]