Kansas City safety Otha Foster III made his return to Louisiana Friday night, playing in front of 72,080 fans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in the preseason opener for the Chiefs and New Orleans Saints.

The Saints topped the Chiefs, 17-13, in a defensive battle. It was Foster’s first NFL game.

“It really didn’t hit me until they started playing the national anthem,” Foster said. “When people started putting on their helmets, then it hit me that I am actually down here about to play in a game I’ve always wanted to play in. I was about to play in my first NFL preseason game ever.”

A 2006 Varnado High graduate, Foster went to Kansas City as an undrafted free agent.

Foster, who attended the University of West Alabama, saw playing time at safety and also played on special teams. He finished with five total tackles, with four solos and one assist.

One of his individual stops came on special teams.

He entered the game with the punt return team in the first half and played the entire second half.

“I felt pretty good about the game. It was very exciting. I felt I played an OK game. It was a great experience,” Foster said.

Foster said he liked that he was able to make some good tackles in the open field but said he didn’t like a missed tackle he had trying to do too much.

“I know there’s a lot of room for improvement. The key is to improve each week,” Foster said.

Foster said it was great to play in the Dome.

“We never made it that far in high school, so this was my first time,” Foster said. “I said I was going to have about 20 people there in the stands, but it was more like 50-60 people there.”

Foster is grateful to all who’ve been there for him.

“I want to thank my family, friends and everyone who has supported me,” Foster said.

Kansas City took the opening kickoff and marched down the field, scoring on Jamal Charles’ 1-yard run to complete a 14-play, 80-yard drive that took 6:23 off of the clock.

New Orleans kicked a field goal in the second period to make it 10-3 by halftime.

The Saints scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to grab a 17-10 lead as the teams prepared to play the final period.

The Chiefs added a field goal in the fourth but never could get back in front after being down, 17-10.

Foster gets his first chance to play in front of the Kansas City fans Friday night at 7 when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I haven’t been inside the stadium yet, but just from camp and all of the fans we have had every day to watch us practice, it’s a great fan base, and they love their Chiefs,” Foster said.

Foster also said the 49ers are his little brother La’Jordan Harry’s favorite team.

“It’ll be fun to go against his favorite team and the players that he loves to watch play and root for,” Foster said.