Despite valiant efforts from senior free safety Cameron Vaughn and the Fulton defense, the Osage Indians were able to outlast the Hornets 32-26 in Friday night's season opener at Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium.
Ironically, it was a near-repeat of Osage's 28-21 victory over Fulton in last season's opener. The Indians once again relied upon superior depth and a physical running game to wear down the Hornets in the fourth quarter.
With a little more than 7 minutes remaining in the game, Fulton sophomore Tyler Sayler pinned Osage deep in its own territory with a beautiful punt. The massive flip in field position looked to be a momentum-changer, but it turned out to be the last time the Hornets touched the ball.
The Indians put together a 19-play, 90-yard that essentially ended the game. Senior running back Nick Riley's 4-yard touchdown scamper with 18 seconds remaining would be enough for the Indians to break a 26-all tie.
Riley and fellow senior running back Austin Magnuson were instrumental on the night, setting a physical tone and wearing on a Fulton defense that had to play multiple starters both ways. Riley rushed 26 times for 114 yards (4.3 per carry), while Magnuson added 15 attempts for 71 yards (4.4 average).
After taking the lead for good, Osage recovered an onside kick and ran out the rest of the clock. Blake Logan's team simply ran out of time, but the first-year head coach was able to take plenty of positives from his debut with the Hornets.
"I was extremely proud of the guys' effort - I wasn't always proud of the execution, but the effort was there," Logan said. "It's something you love to see as a coach. You just don't want to have those mental errors and mistakes."
Aside from the Hornets' effort, the play of Vaughn at quarterback was another positive the coaching staff can focus on.
After Vaughn missed his entire junior season with a broken collarbone, Logan made the bold decision to let him operate the offense Friday night. While junior Evan Gray got the start, Vaughn took most of the snaps and played spectacular.
Vaughn rushed 19 times for 127 yards (6.6 per carry) and produced touchdowns runs of 19, 26 and 52 yards. He also completed 7-of-13 passes for 68 yards and no interceptions.
In his first-ever game under center, Vaughn made a collection of highlight plays, none more jaw-dropping than his 52-yard scramble near the end of the third quarter. In one of Logan's designed power plays, Vaughn was able to find the crease in the defense and turned on the jets. He would break numerous tackles, including spinning out of one defenders' arms on the way to the end zone.
Plays like these are exactly why Logan trusted Vaughn with such a heavy responsibility, and why he tried so hard to maintain the element of surprise.
"I'm not sure how effective it was (keeping Vaughn under wraps), but I'm sure it helped out some," Logan said. "He's a great athlete and was playing both ways. He got a little gassed in the second half and you could tell a little bit, but I think for him to never have taken a snap on any level, to do it under the lights was a pretty big stage for him.
"I think he'll grow and get better."
While Vaughn was stellar most of the night, he did not go without his blemishes. He had two costly fumbles, one of which led to Osage points and another that was deep in Fulton territory.
Logan expects for there to be some growing pains in Vaughn's early development, but believes his signal caller can get it done.
"I think a lot of the mistakes he may have made (Friday night), he's one of those kids that can find ways to offset them with great plays," Logan said.
Early returns on the offensive line were also a high note for the Hornets. A unit that was seen as a potential question mark entering the season turned in a fine game against a tough Osage front. The line powered the Hornets to 222 yards rushing and nearly 6 yards per carry.
Sophomore running back Taeon Logan added 16 carries for 81 yards (5.1 average) and a 1-yard touchdown run.
Depth would once again rear its ugly head, though, as many of the offensive line starters were forced to rotate on the defensive line by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.
"If you told me we would've rushed for nearly 200 yards against a good, physical ball club with two great linebackers, I'd take it," Logan said. "They were bringing those guys up the middle and I thought our offensive line responded and stepped up.
"I'm extremely excited to see where we can go this year - we're just not as deep there as we'd like."
Fatigue and a few costly turnovers would ultimately undermine a solid outing by coordinator Teneil Stevenson's defense. The Hornets swarmed to the ball and often held Osage out of scoring position, even when placed in less-than-advantageous situations.
While the Fulton defense allowed more than 200 yards on the ground, Indians senior quarterback Zach Wheeler was 13-of-25 passing for 134 yards, a pair of scores and an interception.
The Hornets were also able to win the turnover battle. Vaughn intercepted two passes in the back of the end zone to stop Osage scoring drives, while Fulton recovered three more fumbles to give the offense plenty of chances to strike at the Indians.
"I know we had three or four takeaways, a couple in the red zone, so I thought we had some great plays on defense," Logan said. "(Junior tackle) Latrellus Colbert and (senior middle linebacker) LeCheyon Williams both played well; we just started cramping up.
"Both teams played physical and they eventually came out on top, but I was proud of my guys' effort on both offense and defense."
Fulton travels to Versailles this Friday night. The Tigers hammered Knob Noster 51-30 in their season opener Friday night.