Quarterback Dalton LeNoir looks for an open receiver on play action behind fullback Ethan Boulden.

The Fayette High School football team worked out the kinks Saturday night during the annual preseason jamboree. Fayette hosted Hallsville, Mark Twain and Lewis & Clark Conference rival Slater at Central Methodist’s newly refurbished Davis Field.

This was the first chance for the teams to see action against one another before the official start of the season Friday night. Falcon Head Coach Billy Huthman said he kept his offense fairly low profile in an effort to not give away too much before Friday’s home opener against Knox County.

“Our offense was very vanilla,” he said. “I wasn’t going to show anything. I’m pretty sure Knox County was watching. So I didn’t want to throw that much.”

The few passes by junior quarterback Dalton LeNoir showed promise. And a 40-yarder to senior wide receiver Ryan Sherman picked up Fayette’s second score against Hallsville. LeNoir called the play from the formation as an audible. “He saw the corners start walking out there and just checked it,” Huthman explained. “He looked back at me to see what I thought and I said ‘yes.’ So he checked it and threw it. That was all him, it wasn’t me.”

Sherman was a part of each of Fayette’s three touchdowns on the night. He scored twice against Hallsville. On the offense’s first play from scrimmage, he cruised for long yardage on a run to the endzone. Against Slater he made another 40-yard play, this time on the ground.

Fayette’s caution of what to show kept full backs Ethan Boulden and Keyton Schweighauser and running back Boone Priddy battling for short yardage outside the tackles. But Huthman said that won’t be the case during the season. “They are going to have a lot of scores, too.”

In fact, Huthman said fans will see a completely different team on the field Friday against Knox County. “We’ll bounce it out a lot more against Knox County and spread these guys out,” he said. “Going into that game, you’ll see a different team.”

Defensively Huthman said he liked what he saw Saturday. The Falcons allowed just two touchdowns, one each from Class 2 Mark Twain and Hallsville, and Slater’s varsity failed to gain positive yardage. “Our defense looked great again tonight,” he said.

The Falcons open the season at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Knox County at CMU’s Davis Field. Huthman said the Eagles are a very tough and physical team. But his Falcons have the people to make the stops. “I got a chance to watch them Friday,” he said. “They spread it out and like to throw the ball around. And they run it very effectively. They’ve got some pretty good size. We can’t take them lightly.”

Fayette hits the road to take on third-ranked Tipton for Week 2 before returning home to face longtime conference rival Marceline in Week 3.

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