Fulton High School coach Buck Coatney told his counterpart at Carter earlier this season to enjoy the Hornets' undefeated run.

You never know when it might end, Coatney told Hornets coach Heath Woods.

Turns out it ended Friday night.

Turns out it was Coatney's Falcons who rained on the Hornets' perfect season - 42-0 - on a rainy night at Carter.

Turns out it was Dennis Rogan and Terrence Cobb who ran all over that perfect season.

Rogan rushed for 251 yards - his second consecutive game over 220 yards - and Cobb gained added 108 yards as two-time defending Class 3A state champion Fulton romped.

Over the course of Fulton's six-game winning streak, Rogan has 1,264 yards and 19 scores.

"We like what we see," said Cobb, who finished with 108 yards and a touchdown. "We're just trying to keep it rolling."

The Falcons, who won their sixth consecutive game to improve to 6-3, need to keep rolling. Next week's game against Livingston Academy is a must-win if the Falcons want to return to the playoffs.

If they can play like they did Friday, the playoffs might not be a problem.

Carter, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, couldn't find much offense after its first drive.

The Hornets (8-1) moved from their 32 down to the Fulton 27 before Chris Pitchford picked off Carter quarterback Brett Stanton inside the 10-yard line.

That led to an 88-yard drive that gave Fulton a 7-0 advantage on 20-yard touchdown run by Rogan.

The junior scored on Fulton's next drive, this time from 8-yards out to give the Falcons a 14-0 lead on the final play of the first quarter.

They nearly scored on their next drive, but a Tyrone Cobb fumble inside the 1 cost Fulton seven more points.

Pitchford's third pick of the half set up a 1-yard run by Cobb to give Fulton a 21-0 halftime lead.

All told, Pitchford accounted for four of Carter's five turnovers, and Fulton's defensive sacked Stanton six times.

Carter drove into Fulton territory in the last minute of the half, but Stanton threw his fourth interception of the half - more than half his season total before Friday. Dennis Freeney got the pickoff.

Freeney almost gave Fulton a few more points before the half, but he was stopped just short of the end zone.

A heavy rain fell at halftime, and then the Falcons poured it on again in the third quarter.

Fulton scored on its first three possessions of the second half to make the score 42-0.

All told, the Falcons racked up 474 total yards, 379 of which came on the ground.

"I think our biggest assest is our offensive line," said Coatney. "Dennis is a heck of a player, but that whole unit is impressive."

Woods was equally impressed with Fulton's line on both sides of the ball.

"They were bigger, stronger and faster," he said. "They're a good football team."

The loss does nothing to down Carter's playoffs hopes. The Hornets have already clinched first place in Region 1-3A heading into next week's game at Rutledge.

"This doesn't hurt us, other than our ego," Woods said. "I can't tell you what 8-1 is like. We'd never been 8-0 before. We're just going to try and build on it."

Fulton will try to do the same.

"We've been playing as a team," Pitchford said. "Unselfish. We've just got to keep doing what we've been doing."

 

Drew Edwards covers high school sports. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.