For awhile it seemed as if the Marshall Owls were primed to end their 16-game losing streak - until the Fulton Hornets' defense woke up in the second half.
The Hornets (2-3, 1-1 NCMC) rallied to overcome the winless Owls (0-5, 0-3 NCMC) 28-15 Friday night. It was Fulton's first time winning at Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium this year and their first North Central Missouri Conference victory.
"Extremely glad that we got our first win at home. And it was the way that it happened," Fulton head coach Blake Logan said. "It didn't matter who we played, we started off letting them score on a big play and we responded great."
On Marshall's second play from scrimmage senior quarterback John Haug launched a 64-yard bomb to sophomore wide receiver Jace Lance to give the Owls an early eight point lead.
Fulton would respond on the next drive as senior quarterback Cameron Vaughn rolled to his left and completed a short pass to senior wide receiver Nazir McClain. McClain would do the rest as he raced 26 yards to the endzone and pulled the Hornets within two midway through the first quarter.
The Owls would answer right back however, taking advantage of the Hornets' nickel package. With a defender outside of the box, Marshall ran the ball six consecutive times and Haug capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown.
With the defense struggling, Fulton's coaching staff opted to go back to the basics which ended up paying major dividends in the next three quarters.
"We tried something new and it didn't work so we went back to what we knew and it was really that simple," Logan said. "We tried to put an extra secondary guy out there, but we were light in the box and they saw that.
"They were able to run it on us and that kind of scared us since this team doesn't run the ball a lot, so we just went back to what we knew."
The change was vital in the defense' turnaround performance - after giving up six first downs in the first, the Hornets only allowed four for the remainder of the game, forced two turnovers and shutout the Owls.
Facing a 15-6 deficit with over 10 minutes remaining in the second, the Hornets put together a 14-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a one yard touchdown from junior defensive tackle Latrellus Colbert to move the Hornets back within two heading into halftime.
In the second half, the Hornets began flexing their muscles on offense as the return of McClain and junior running back Taeon Logan pumped life into Fulton.
Logan's longest run of the season - 32 yards - put the Hornets in position to take an early second half lead, but the Owls were able to stuff Colbert on a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line.
The defense would regain momentum of the ensuing drive. Colbert sacked Haug in the backfield for a 10 yard loss and the Hornets broke up Haug's pass on fourth down to get the offense the ball back with 1 minute and 20 seconds remaining in the third.
Vaughn would then put the team on his back in the fourth as he led his team down the field 52 yards to the Owls' 12. On the next play Vaughn broke a number of tackles and powered his way into the endzone to give Fulton its first lead, 21-15.
Vaughn finished 9-of-13 for 92 yards and touchdown and also added 19 carries and 75 yards, along with his touchdown. It was a strong outing for Vaughn after starting at running back against Moberly.
Logan and company went out of their way to ensure Vaughn's comfort as they employed a number of rollouts, and run-pass-option plays to allow Vaughn to get into space and have more time find his receivers.
"After our experiment last week, we told the kids Vaughn is our quarterback going forward and he's the best leader on the team," Logan said. "Kids on the team they follow him, if he makes a mistake he's harder on himself than anyone.
"He's a prototypical leader and he did a lot better job at getting depth on his bootlegs."
Vaughn arguably made the play of the game when he converted a long third down to keep the Hornets' scoring hopes alive.
Facing a 3rd-and-12 at the Owls' 29, Vaughn rolled all the way to his right, but was unable to find anyone open. He adjusted his body, flipped his vision back to his left and launched a pass across the field to senior wide receiver Makygh Galbreath.
Galbreath bobbled the ball initially, but was able to come down with it as the Hornets converted in a key situation.
"It was one of those classic no, no, no, YES moments and of course it makes you nervous when you see him throw the ball across field, off balance," Logan said. "He gambled right there, but he gambled with his guy and it came out good.
I personally think he could've ran for it."
McClain's 19-yard touchdown run with just over a minute remaining would seal the deal for the Hornets and complete their comeback. McClain was arguably the most dynamic Hornet on the night as he accounted for 118 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and four catches.
Taeon Logan finished with 16 carries for 77 yards and Logan expects the duo will continue to impress as they get closer to 100 percent.
"Taeon's not back to 100 percent just yet, but I would say Naz is. We're really gearing the offense up to give him more touches," Logan said. "Yards after contact, he does a great job of not going down and you can't arm tackle him.
"Taeon ran the ball hard and the offensive line did a great job tonight."
After only rushing for 21 yards against Moberly, the Hornets rushed for 245 against the porous Owls and for the first time this season didn't turn the ball over.
Defensively, the Hornets had another strong night pressuring the quarterback as they recorded three sacks. Colbert was responsible for two, while junior linebacker Tyler Sayler chipped in the other.
Galbreath intercepted Haug to end the game and also recovered a fumble in the second.
The Hornets will head on the road to take on the Hannibal Pirates for another NCMC contest. The Pirates (3-2, 2-1 NCMC) defeated Kirksville 34-7 on Friday.
Stevie Johnson can be reached at 573-824-2423, or on Twitter @Stevie_FSun.