Good start for Fulton, better to come

FULTON – It wouldn’t be a stretch to picture the Fulton Steamers as a contender when the playoffs roll around two months from now.

The Steamers can picture it themselves, and one thing they know: that version is going to have to improve upon the version that defeated Galena 31-12 on Friday night in the 2022 season opener for both teams.

“We have to work on little things like jumping offsides and fumbling, like I did,” senior running back Ryan Eads said. “We can’t practice for who we have next, we have to practice for who we want to become.”

The Steamers (1-0) want to become contenders, and that’s what they looked like in the first quarter against the Pirates.

The opening drive had promise, starting with a 36-yard completion from Brayden Dykstra to Baylen Damhoff on the first play. Eads gained a total of 19 yards on the next two plays to put the Steamers at the 20. The drive came to a sudden end on the fourth play, as Dykstra was picked off in the end zone by Galena’s Roman Romer.

Fulton’s defense set the tone the next possession, forcing a punt after allowing one first down. The Steamer defense was stout all night, allowing only 105 total yards, including just 11 yards after halftime.

Fulton’s offense went back to work, churning 75 yards on 10 plays, concluding with a 3-yard touchdown run by Lukas Schroeder. After a three-and-out by Galena, Schroeder scored his second touchdown on a 25-yard scamper up the middle. He led all rushers with 173 yards on 22 carries.

“It feels amazing,” Schroeder said. “We came out and did what we did. We made some mistakes, but we recovered from them. We did what we were supposed to do at the end of the day. Our offense was clicking, and our defense was really good.”

Galena (0-1) put a temporary halt to a blowout by possessing the ball for the next 7 minutes, 39 seconds, thanks in part to a roughing the passer penalty on a third down that extended its drive. The Pirates moved the ball from its own 31 to the Steamer 7. The drive ended there after two pass attempts by quarterback John Wubben bounced off the hands of receivers on third and fourth down.

“No matter how long the defensive possession is, you just have to keep fighting and keep fighting,” said Eads, who is also a defensive back. “Keep working every play.”

After the teams traded a pair of scoreless possessions, Fulton closed the half with a 44-yard field goal by senior kicker Endi Qunaj to go into the break with a 17-0 lead.

Fulton’s Zane Pannell opened the second half with two big plays from his defensive line position. He dragged down Galena’s Sam Eaton for a loss on first down, and had a sack of Wubben on third down.

Fulton seemingly iced the game with a quick 52-yard touchdown drive after that. Dykstra hit Eads in the flat, and Eads took it the rest of the way for a 21-yard touchdown that put Fulton up 24-0.

“When I got it, I thought was going to get laid out,” Eads said. “When I looked up, I saw that Robbie [Sheckler] was just hauling. That’s my tackle, and he just blocked it perfectly, and I just had to run it in there. He did great, and credit my offensive line, they did a lot of great work.”

Eads had 120 rushing yards on 20 carries, and he had 48 receiving yards on four receptions. The Steamer offense racked up 419 total yards.

Damhoff had the Steamers’ other score late in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard sweep.

Galena’s two scores both came on special-teams plays. A botched snap on a 46-yard field goal attempt turned into a 54-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Eaton with 9:20 left in the third quarter. Eaton then had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 2:54 left in the game.

“Our offense and defense were clicking,” Schroeder said, “but we had too many mental mistakes and penalties. We have to cut those out to get where we want.”