ASHLAND, Mo. - The No. 3 seed Southern Boone Eagles used an unyielding rushing attack to power past the No. 6 Fulton Hornets 34-15 in the first round of Class 3, District 6 play Friday night..
Though Fulton - ending its season with a 3-7 record - would get on the scoreboard first, its blunders on its opening possession would foreshadow the Hornets' struggles with crisp execution.
First, senior wide receiver Nazir McClain dropped a wide-open pass that would've been good for a first down.
On the next play, senior quarterback Cameron Vaughn lateralled to senior wide receiver Makygh Galbreath, who then tried to find a wide-open senior wide receiver Joseph Hinchie deep in Southern Boone territory, but he also dropped the pass.
Fulton's defense would come up huge on the Eagles' initial series, forcing a fumble by senior running back Jackson Surtain and recovering the ball at Southern Boone's 16-yard line.
Following behind the Hornets' new goal-line formation, Vaughn powered his way into the end zone from 4 yards out to give Fulton a 7-0 edge with 8 minutes, 48 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
On the Eagles' ensuing possession, junior quarterback Sam Stichnote was picked off by Vaughn deep in the Hornets' red zone. Fulton seemed to be in full control at this juncture, but couldn't convert as Southern Boone (7-3) forced a three-and-out.
A shanked 8-yard punt put the Eagles in great field position at the Hornets' 35. After a 20-yard run by Sartain, senior running back Cooper Mange scored on a 7-yard run as Southern Boone pulled even with 2:03 to go in the quarter.
Mistakes would then begin piling up for Fulton as Vaughn was intercepted by Eagles senior Seth Mueller, who jumped a route cleanly on the sideline and stayed in bounds.
Southern Boone would then march 39 yards in eight plays before Sartain capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. That would put the Eagles in front to stay at 14-7 with 9:13 left in the first half.
After failing to convert on fourth down in Southern Boone territory, the Hornets were able to force a three-and-out two minutes before halftime. However, the punt touched a Fulton player and the Eagles quickly recovered on their own 48.
Another fumble by Sartain would help Fulton avoid entering halftime down two scores. While pleased with the start, head coach Blake Logan knew leaving points on the field would eventually haunt the Hornets.
"We had two drops early and a couple of turnovers. I told them at the half we were lucky to just be down seven," Logan said. "We just failed to execute and I take the blame for that.
"I felt like we could've had multiple touchdowns on the first drive, but we couldn't convert. Overall, we just weren't communicating on offense and defense."
That issue would rear its ugly head in the second half as the Eagles piled on three straight touchdowns before Fulton could respond.
Southern Boone started the third quarter with 10 consecutive runs as it ran straight up the gut of the Hornets' defense. Sartain would punch in his second touchdown of the night from 2 yards out to stretch the Eagles' advantage to 21-7 with 6:53 to play in the third quarter.
Mueller would add a 5-yard touchdown run later in the quarter and Stichnote snuck into the end zone from 1 yard out with 7:20 left in the game as Southern Boone opened up its biggest lead at 34-7.
Fulton's defensive struggles were magnified by a clear difference in physical strength, as well as the fact that the Hornets' offense couldn't sustain any drives in the second half.
"Honestly, I think they got a little tired, and they were just the stronger team," Logan said. "Their backs ran through arm-tackles and punished tacklers.
"Even with their quarterback, we would have three or four guys around him and instead of wrapping up, we woud try to arm-tackle. They were a scrappy team and I could tell they have a great weight program."
The Hornets would add a score late in the game when Vaughn connected with junior tight end Garrett Johnson from 3 yards out for his first touchown catch of the season.
Fulton finished with just 181 yards of total offense, but Vaughn accounted for 177 of that output with 83 yards rushing on 17 carries and 94 yards passing on 11-of-23 completions, with two interceptions.
Vaughn was constantly harassed all night and repeated low snaps hindered his ability to make more plays, but Logan was proud of the resiliency he and the rest of the senior class showed.
"I'm going to miss not just coaching Cam, but all these guys," Logan said. "From him to Solomon Huff, who was injured and still showed up every day and was a leader.
"Tucker Caswell, Colton Bristol, Travis Hildreth, Makygh Galbreath, it's not that these kids are just all-conference performers, but they're all-world people and that'll be what we miss the most. We'll be their biggest fans throughout life."
Southern Boone will travel to No. 2 seed Mexico (7-3) for a District 6 semifinal clash this week. The Bulldogs - ranked 10th in Class 3 - rolled to a 52-28 win over No. 7 seed Christian on Friday night.
Top-seeded Blair Oaks (10-0) - ranked second in the state - will host No. 4 seed Wright City (6-4) in this week's other District 6 semifinal game. The Falcons flattened No. 8 seed Missouri Military Academy 52-0 on Friday night, while the Wildcats outlasted No. 5 seed Winfield 44-35.