Blair Oaks set to host Southern Boone tonight for Homecoming

Blair Oaks running back Riley Lentz tries to evade a tackle from Eldon's Riley Pope during a game earlier this month at the Falcon Athletic Complex in Wardsville.
Blair Oaks running back Riley Lentz tries to evade a tackle from Eldon's Riley Pope during a game earlier this month at the Falcon Athletic Complex in Wardsville.

WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The Blair Oaks Falcons were having flashbacks last Friday against the Hallsville Indians.

Much of the 18-6 win felt a lot like their Week 3 struggles against Versailles following the injury to quarterback Nolan Hair. Blair Oaks struggled to produce any offense, accumulating just 208 total yards against Hallsville, the first time the Falcons' have failed to surpass 300 yards of offense under head coach Terry Walker.

"We've got to eliminate bad snaps and fumbled snaps, which was an issue in the Versailles game and reared its head again against Hallsville," Walker said of Blair Oaks' seven fumbles, although none resulted in turnovers.

"We've tried to simplify our blocking schemes, both in the pass game and in the run game. We've spent a lot of time on being physical. If you're going to be a good team in November, then you have to have the ability to run the football, and that starts right up front with the offensive line, because they're going to set the pace."

Blair Oaks looks to continue its unbeaten start to the season tonight when it hosts Southern Boone for Homecoming at the Falcon Athletic Complex. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

For the third straight week, the Falcons are playing a team coming off a big Tri-County Conference win. In last Friday's game, which saw eight lead changes, Southern Boone rallied twice in the fourth quarter to beat School of the Osage 55-51 for its first conference victory.

"They just kept on battling. They just kept on grinding it out," Walker said. "Any time you play a team that is not really paying any attention to the scoreboard and is playing hard like the way the game is supposed to be played, then you're going to be in for a dogfight.

"We expect that they're going to come in here very fired up. Coach (Trent) Tracy has done a great job with those guys, he's got them buying in to the program, and I know they have circled this game on their calendar since last year."

Southern Boone's offense is led by junior quarterback Sam Stichnote, who was initially a wide receiver but took over the position in Week 2 after an injury to Sam Mueller. Stichnote scored on a keeper for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:01 to play against Osage, his second touchdown run of the quarter.

Senior Jackson Sartain returned to the backfield last week after being injured and surpassed the 100-yard mark in the first quarter with a pair of long touchdown runs of 44 and 69 yards.

"He was definitely a spark for their team," Walker said of Sartain. "Just from watching on film, it appears he's a team leader. Him being back in the lineup gave them a shot of adrenaline and momentum, and they took advantage of it."

The Eagles have several skill players on offense to share the workload. Sophomore running back Tristan John had a pair of touchdowns against Osage, and juniors Ross Trittler and Colby Phillips have also been key targets.

Walker categorized the Eagles as "a spread team that wants to run the football."

"They've got backups to their primary players, and that makes them a tough team to match up against," Walker said. "I think they want to run the football, I think they recognize that their strengths are their offensive line and their running back position, so they do a bunch of different things to get the ball in different players' hands.

"We've just got to do a great job of being fundamentally sound across the defensive front and then, once we identify where the football's going, we've got to do a great job of gang-tackling and pursing the football."

Southern Boone (3-2, 1-2 Tri-County) has averaged 26.4 points per game, while the defense has allowed an average of 29.6. The Eagles have won their three games by a combined margin of 10 points.

Osage threw for 413 yards and rushed for another 198 yards last week against the Eagles.

"What gives teams trouble are teams that are balanced, more often than not," Walker said. "If you can throw the football with equal success as what you can run it, then from a defensive perspective, you become very difficult to defend."

Walker said he has seen the Eagles use both a four-man and a five-man front defensively.

"We're not quite sure which one we're going to see," Walker said. "We'll try and do our best to be prepared for both of them. I would guess, based upon what they've seen from us, and the fact teams have had success with stunts and blitzes, we'll see some of that, because that's what I would do."

Southern Boone's 55-point outburst isn't terribly alarming to Blair Oaks' defense, which has held opponents to 11.6 points per game and kept Hallsville's offense to just 94 total yards last week.

"We were able to eliminate the big plays that were scoring plays," Walker said. "From a staff's perspective, you're always happy to see that. We did give up one big play, that 33-yard pass midway through the fourth quarter, but we were pleased with our defensive effort. We need to continue that this week."

III

Blair Oaks (5-0, 3-0 Tri-County) remains at No. 2 this week in Class 3 in the Missouri Media Rankings, dropping one point to 129 out of a possible 150. McCluer South-Berkeley stayed atop the rankings with all 15 first-place votes, while Park Hills Central, Chillicothe and Maryville continue to round out the top 5. Eldon stayed put at No. 10. Walker said Blair Oaks sustained no injuries against Hallsville and will only be without Hair for tonight's game. Since Hair's right leg injury in Week 3, Blair Oaks has struggled in the 2-point conversion department, succeeding on just 1-of-11 attempts. Walker said he isn't planning to switch to extra-point kicks yet. "With the kids we have kicking right now, none of them have risen to that level of consistency, which makes me think we're better off going for two versus going for one," Walker said. The Falcons were 9-of-13 on 2-point tries prior to Hair's injury.

Related media:

Blair Oaks Football Podcast [Southern Boone preview, Sept. 22, 2017]