OWENSVILLE -- The Fulton Hornets made some big plays while allowing just 14 points against the Owensville Dutchmen and South Callaway Bulldogs.
Sweeping the Owensville Jamboree, Fulton beat host Owensville 14-6 and fellow Callaway County school South Callaway 14-8 Friday at Dutchmen Field. The games comprised 12 varsity and six junior varsity plays for each team.
In the Hornets' matchup with the Dutchmen, Tyson Douglas gave himself a platform for the starting quarterback job.
For Fulton's first offensive play, Douglas completed a 12-yard pass to Ryan Roselius, and then two plays later, he lobbed a 30-yard touchdown pass to all-district wide receiver Gabe DeFily to make it 6-0 Fulton.
"(DeFily) kind of picked up where he left off, and I think that's gonna be him," Fulton football coach Dana Chambers said. "We're gonna ask for him to do a lot. He's gonna have to help us out on defense as well. But I think, for the most part, he did what we asked him to do, and he's gonna make plays. We're glad to have it."
That play was the Hornets' lone varsity touchdown against Owensville, but they did have one more noteworthy happening after it put six points on the board, and it occurred on the ground this time. Running back Malik Douglas bulldozed his way up the middle for a 23-yard carry on the Hornets' sixth offensive play.
Hornets junior varsity quarterback Cooper Hrabovsky was involved in the remainder of their scoring plays against the Dutchmen, completing a 25-yard touchdown pass before running it in for the 2-point conversion.
"I think we did well starting off offensively. We had a good drive," Chambers said. "We scored our second drive. We got going, and then we kind of stalled out. We got to be able to correct those mistakes and not stall out. Gotta be able to finish drives."
On the defensive side, Fulton intercepted Owensville varsity quarterback Blake Elliot after allowing him to score a 5-yard touchdown earlier. Elliot had an 11-yard rush leading up to the touchdown, and he threw a 20-yard pass before the Hornets picked him off on the ensuing play.
Elliot's touchdown and two extended yardage plays were the only instances the Dutchmen got something going against Fulton.
"Defensively, I think we did well," Chambers said. "They came down on us and scored on that first, and then we kind of bowed our necks and played better football-wise. But for that bet first scrimmage, I would say we did what we came to do. We've seen our offense, and we've seen our run game. We've seen our pass game on defense. We ran around and made plays."
Moving on to the South Callaway game, the Hornets started slow, failing to gain a yard in their first six plays. However, Fulton made up for it on its ninth snap.
Making that happen, Douglas tossed a screen pass to Zander Schuster -- listed as a guard, according to MaxPreps -- for a 32-yard touchdown, his second and final touchdown pass. For the 2-point conversion, Douglas converted it by running into the end zone.
"(Douglas) stepped in, and he did a good job tonight," Chambers said.
Following the 12 varsity snaps, Fulton had a few high-yardage plays with the junior varsity team.
After Hrabovksy found Roselius for a 28-yard completion, the Hornets' Chris Pittmon scored a 10-yard touchdown, giving them a 12-0 lead. Extending Fulton's lead to 14-0, Hrabovsky completed a pass to Roseslius for the 2-point conversion.
"I feel like both our quarterbacks stepped in and did a good job," Chambers said. "... they're competing still, and it's good to see both out there playing hard."
On the defensive side, the Hornets gave up three 10-plus yard plays and a touchdown, but they did their job aside from that.
South Callaway scored on its eighth play when all-district quarterback Tayber Gray hurled a 4-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Briggs; Owen Rees ran it in for the 2-point conversion.
The Hornets held the Bulldogs off the board for their final 10 plays, securing the jamboree sweep.
"It's always good to see those guys because, man, they play hard," Chambers said. "Their offense is somewhat similar to what we'll see ....from certain teams during the season, so it's good that it's good to see that in the preseason.
"We started off battling a little; we struggled. Their defense was coming after us, they were blitzing, and we couldn't get it blocked. I think the second or third time around, we kind of picked it up a little bit better and put the scoring drive together.
"So for the most part, South Callaway, we did okay, and then on defense, I think I was pleased with our defense against South Callaway as well."
Overall, Fulton showed improvement over last season's jamboree when it lost both games. The Hornets hope to keep it up when playing meaningful games.