FULTON, Mo. - In order to win their first game this season at Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium, the Fulton Hornets must remedy a suddenly struggling offense after a dismal four-turnover, 35-0 loss at Moberly in last week's North Central Missouri Conference opener.
Fulton (1-3, 0-1 NCMC) enters tonight's conference home contest against Marshall, a 7 p.m. kickoff, on a two-game losing streak with an offense that has lost its spark.
The Hornets barely eclipsed 100 total yards against the Spartans last week, in large part due to the four interceptions thrown by their quarterbacks.
With junior running back Taeon Logan and senior wide receiver Nazir McClain - who regularly takes snaps in the backfield - banged up, Fulton head coach Blake Logan moved senior Cam Vaughn from quarterback to tailback and started sophomore Tyler Sayler under center.
Despite a few promising moments on Sayler's opening drive, it ended in a pick-six and ultimately spiraled into a three-interception outing. Logan praised Moberly's smothering defensive effort, but also cited a lack of execution that played a role in Sayler's struggles.
"Some of it was fundamentals - the first interception was a designed run - so that was a mistake on our part in decision-making," Logan said. "Some others hit the hands of the receivers and weren't quite placed right.
"However, we have a rule that if it hits your hands, you catch it, but we need to run our routes better, block better and be more accurate."
Vaughn wasn't able to make much of an impact in his shift to running back, but he did account for just more than half of the Hornets' 101 total yards, with 52 yards on six catches and two carries.While he showed glimpses of what he can do on the perimeter, Vaughn is most valuable when the play starts with the ball in his hands and he'll be back at quarterback tonight.
"Cam's going to look good or excel wherever we put him at - he's a kid that just makes plays," Logan said. "He's a special athlete and a kid we want to continue to get the ball to, so he'll probably be taking most of the snaps from here on."
Blake Logan also expects Taeon Logan to be closer to 100 percent after being held to just five carries and 16 yards last week.
There may not be a better opponent for a struggling Hornets offense to face than Marshall (0-4, 0-2 NCMC), which has lost 15 straight games dating back to 2015. The Owls possess one of the more porous defenses around, allowing 46.3 points per game.
Kirksville senior running back Blake Lewis accumulated 223 all-purpose yards and had touchdown runs of 38 and 28 yards last week as the Tigers smoked the Owls in a 38-0 romp in Marshall. The week before, the Owls surrendered three touchdown passes that went for more than 50 yards each in a 55-14 conference loss at Mexico.
With a number of its playmakers back in their natural fits, Fulton has the capability of putting up a strong showing tonight, but the focus has been less on how to attack Marshall and more about internal improvement.
"Our big thing this week is to focus on ourselves. That's what we're preaching this week and not to worry about who we're playing," Blake Logan said. "We have to take care of us and if we do that, we'll be in good shape."
The Hornet defense gave up 21 points last week during a dubious second quarter. Fulton's line sacked Moberly senior quarterback Nick Gelina four times, but the bigger story was the missed opportunities for turnovers.
With the Spartans driving to extend their lead, a Hornets defender dropped an interception inside Fulton's 10-yard line. Moberly would eventually score a few plays later.
The Spartans put the ball on the turf numerous times, but the Hornets were unable to come up with any turnovers and squandered chances at obtaining momentum.
"We've gone two weeks in a row without any takeaways, so it's pretty frustrating when we're not opportunistic," Logan said. "They don't present themselves many times, so we have to capitalize when we can and part of that is mentality and expecting to make the play."
Marshall hasn't been much better on offense, despite its wide-open spread passing attack. The Owls are averaging a feeble 10.5 points and have been shut out twice.
In the only two games in which Marshall has scored, it faced halftime deficits of 36 points against Sedalia Smith-Cotton and 35 against Mexico, meaning the offense has yet to be competitive.
The Owls have allowed close to three sacks per game and have failed to generate positive yardage on the ground in three weeks.
Freshman quarterback Ben Haug will get his second start of the season tonight for Marshall and his favorite target, junior wide receiver Jaylen Varner, will be one to watch, but the Fulton defense should have the edge with its physicality and speed.
The Owls have consistently shown a trend of making mistakes, so it will be on the Hornets to convert those chances to end their losing streak.
"This is going to be a pass-happy offense for Marshall and we just want them to be opportunistic," Logan said. "When you face a team that throws the ball as much as them, you know there will be opportunities - we just have to convert."
Related media:
Fulton Hornets Football Podcast [Marshall preview, Sept. 15, 2017]