A young Fayette team ran afoul of a Class 2 veteran squad Friday night, falling 55-6 to a sizeable Houston on the road. The Falcons were coming off an opening week victory the Friday prior before making the three-plus-hour-long road trip. Houston fell in its season opener to Orchard Farm.

Fayette’s lone touchdown came during its second drive. After falling behind 14-0, the Falcons drove 74 yards down the field, highlighted by a 48-yard pass down the right sideline from junior quarterback Kaleb Friebe to sophomore wide receiver Payton Oeth. A horsecollar tackling call against Houston extended the gain by 15 yards, giving Fayette a first down at the Houston 29-yard line.

“We finally threw a route that we’d been practicing all year and got the ball to Payton,” said Fayette coach Kole Hinton. “He was able to make a play.”

Two plays later, Friebe found sophomore running back Carter Vroman, who broke two tackles before being brought down at the 8-yard line.

Following a Houston timeout, Friebe slung a screen pass to junior running back Micah Estes, who turned upfield for eight yards for a touchdown.

“The good thing about it was that we were finally able to pass the ball a little bit,” Hinton said. “That’s been kind of the shaky part for us all year.”

Vroman was brought down short of the goal line for the two-point conversion attempt. But Fayette was on the board, trailing 14-6.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, the touchdown would be the highlight of the game. The Fayette was only able to cross the 50-yard line once more, against Houston’s second string late in the fourth quarter when Friebe found Oeth in the air once again to make it to the Houston 28-yard line—but time expired before the Falcons could reach the endzone.

Fayette’s offense twice turned the ball over on downs, and an interception and a fumble ended drives in the second quarter.

“When I say that we’re young, I think that most people forget that young means not only are we inexperienced, but we’re smaller, not as physical, not as fast,” Hinton said. “They were just bigger, stronger, faster than us.”

The Falcons graduated nine seniors from last season’s team, most of whom started at key positions.

Hinton said that despite the disparity in size and experience, the scores should not have been that far apart. Houston scored on all but one possession, forcing a continuous clock in the second half.

“We didn’t capitalize on the mistakes that they made,” Hinton said. “They were flagged quite a bit the first couple of drives for false starts and holdings and things of that nature. I told our defense that we needed to take advantage of it. Then, all of a sudden, they’re first and 15 and pick up a first down. Part of that is that we’re playing seven sophomores on defense, and it is what it is.”

Friebe passed for 169 yards, completing six of 16 attempts in only his second varsity start at quarterback. He threw for one touchdown and gave up one interception.

Friebe also made half of Fayette’s rushing attempts with 12 but lost three yards in total due to a 25-yard sack and fumble behind the line of scrimmage on the Falcons’ third drive.

“He throws really well,” Hinton said. “We’re trying to work with him to be OK in the pocket and understanding what is perceived pressure versus legitimate pressure. He’s where we want him to be. He’s going to come along. It’s just a thing we have to deal with right now as a young team with their first-time quarterback.”

Oeth was the main target in the passing game. The tall sophomore made three catches for 122 yards, including the 48-yard catch that set up Fayette’s touchdown in the first quarter. Vroman had two catches for 39 yards, including a 20-yarder. Estes made one catch that he turned into an eight-yard touchdown.

In the backfield, Estes rushed seven times for a total of six yards and lost one fumble. Vroman had four carries for 16 yards, including a 10-yard gain during the Falcons’ scoring drive.

Vroman’s limited touches were because the big sophomore was needed to help shore up the offensive line. Hinton said he had to move Vroman to the H-back position to provide better blocking. “We had to move Carter to help out our run game a little bit. Micah got some more of those carries.”

Fayette returns to Class 1 action on Friday to host winless Scotland County in what should be a more even matchup for the first Lewis & Clark Conference game of the season. The Tigers were shutout by Clark County 38-0 in the season opener and fell last week at Highland 14-6. Fayette has won six out of the previous seven matchups with Scotland County dating to 2016, winning the last three in a row. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Hinton said the Tigers’ defense looks very similar to Fayette’s, and his coaching staff has a good idea of what they do offensively. Right now, it’s about getting back to basics and playing better. 

“You always play a little bit better at home in front of your crowd. You’re always more excited and more comfortable. We’ll get back to basics and maybe pare some stuff down as well. We’re still trusting the process. We’re not totally disheveled from this blowout loss. We know what boat we are in. We’re just trying to get better week to week. Because nothing really matters until Week 10.”

Next Friday, Fayette travels to conference rival Westran before returning home for a three-game home stand starting on September 22 against Marceline.