The Fulton Hornets finally got their running game moving.
No. 4 seed Fulton produced 286 yards rushing in its 50-28 romp over the No. 5 Winfield Warriors in Friday night's Class 3, District 6 opener at Robert E. Fisher Jr. Stadium. Fulton (5-5) will now face the top-seeded and second-ranked Blair Oaks Falcons (9-0) - who earned a first-round bye - in the semifinals this week in Wardsville.
"It's a nice win for the kids - the No. 1 goal was to win and move on, and we did that," Fulton head coach Pat Kelley said. "We were able to run the ball tonight better than we have (most of the season). We still have some things we obviously need to improve on.
" We have a long week of practice in front of us to get ready to play a really good team."
The Hornets' difficulties running the ball this season have been well-documented as they came into Friday night averaging just 133 yards on the ground. Against Winfield (3-6), Fulton picked up 23 first downs and was able to control the game behind sophomore running back Taeon Logan and senior quarterback Devin Masek.
Logan tallied a team-high 123 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while Masek produced 104 yards and two scores in seven attempts.
Kelley has stated throughout the season that he has wanted the Hornets to establish the run in order open up more opportunities in their passing game. Fulton finally saw that strategy come to fruition Friday night.
The Hornets started their scoring onslaught in the first quarter when Masek found junior wide receiver Makygh Galbreath for a 5-yard touchdown pass to cap off a 10-play drive with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left.
Masek completed 15-of-16 passes for 295 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
"He played another great game," Kelley said. "He picked his spots and he did a nice job reading the defense."
Masek followed up by tossing a 61-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver L'Trevion Vaughn with 11:36 to go in the second quarter and then connected with Logan for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0.
After the Fulton defense forced a three-and-out, Masek raced 28 yards for a touchdown at the 8:37 mark.
"We wanted to get off to a good start," Kelley said.
Winfield was finally able to produce on offense. Sophomore quarterback Collin Sutton punctuated a 14-play drive on the Warriors' next possession with a 27-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Joey Marko. Sutton then hooked up with senior wide receiver Josh Cook for the two-point conversion to cut the Hornets' advantage to 21-8 with 3:56 remaining in the half.
Sutton finished 22-of-39 passing for 305 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also gained a game-high 143 yards and a score on 24 carries.
"We knew No. 2 was a handful coming in and he certainly proved that," Kelley said.
Fulton delivered one more score before halftime on Logan's 11 yard touchdown run with 1:47 left.
The Hornets were swift in pushing their lead to 35-8 after Galbreath turned a short pass from Masek into a 47-yard touchdown with 10:43 to play in the third quarter. Masek connected with Vaughn for the two-point conversion.
Galbreath ended up with a game-high 164 yards receiving on eight catches and Vaughn totaled 129 yards on six receptions.
Kelley noted that his squad was not satisfied with its performance in the first half and believes that's why the Hornets struck so quickly after the break.
"Makygh played a great game," Kelley said. "I think everyone was a little frustrated at halftime. And I think he came out and played with a purpose in the second half - you certainly saw that on that first run.
" I think we came out with a little more fire, a little more power and a little more attitude about us."
Later in the quarter, Winfield senior wide receiver Bobby Blount caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from sophomore kicker Branden Resto off a fake punt at the 2:11 mark. Blount finished with nine catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
Masek then threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game to Vaughn for a 9-yard score and connected with Logan for the two-point conversion to make it 43-14 with 1:20 remaining in the quarter.
The Warriors continued to trade touchdowns with the Hornets in the fourth quarter. Sutton threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Blount with 10:38 left.
Masek scored on an 18-yard run with 6:29 to play and Sutton answered with a 39-yard touchdown scamper with 5:10 left.
"We did a nice job of stopping everything other than the quarterback. Other than that, we played a good game," Kelley said. "I thought for most of the night, (the defense) bent but they didn't break. A couple of scores there in the second half were kind of unfortunate, but you know, we'll move on."