Blair Oaks returns several skill players, begins season against Maryville

Blair Oaks wide receiver Jake Closser (center) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter of last year's Class 3 quarterfinal game against Cassville at the Falcon Athletic Complex in Wardsville.
Blair Oaks wide receiver Jake Closser (center) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter of last year's Class 3 quarterfinal game against Cassville at the Falcon Athletic Complex in Wardsville.

WARDSVILLE - Some things are becoming annual habits for the Blair Oaks Falcons.

They've become accustomed to winning Tri-County Conference championships and district championships, which they've done each of the past five years. They have a 47-game regular-season winning streak, and on top of that, they had won 27 consecutive games, which came to an end with last season's 35-28 state quarterfinal loss to Cassville.

It's that last one they remember the most.

"We have a white board in our weight room, and I looked up one day and there's '35-28' written up on the board," Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said. "I don't know who wrote it, but it's been there for the past six months.

"I know these guys are really keyed in on what they have to do to make their season successful."

The Falcons lost a great deal of talent following their 2018 state championship, and they had plenty of new starters take over last season. And still, they maintained a No. 1 ranking in Class 3 for much of the season and finished with a 12-1 record.

"We were so young last year in a lot of positions, and that's not a bad thing," LePage said.

Blair Oaks is still young at some positions, but they have more experience returning this time around.

"There's so much experience," LePage said. "They're coming back with a little different swagger about them approaching the season."

It's going to be a season of uncertainty for every team, due to COVID-19 concerns. But the Falcons are just pleased the start of the season is finally here.

"They all work together, they all are talking, they are all communicating," LePage said. "That's going to be a big plus for us early in the season."

III

SOME PARTS OF the Blair Oaks offense will mirror its 2018 team. For example, the Falcons are returning their starting quarterback and all four starting wide receivers.

It's the kind of experience that will allow LePage and his offense to add more wrinkles to their run-pass option.

"Last year, we had a freshman quarterback with junior receivers," LePage said. "This year, we have a full array of whatever we want, and it is just a lot of fun. Every day, it seems like we're adding something different, and our players are encouraged, they want something different every day."

Dylan Hair had a freshman season to remember. He completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 2,467 yards and 33 touchdowns, then added another 828 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns.

"It was extraordinary for him to do some of the things he did as a freshman," LePage said.

Those numbers made Hair the only freshman in any class to make the Missouri Football Coaches Association all-state team.

"We're able to come up and have a play called, and he's able to recognize what the defense is," LePage said. "In the past, we've always had quarterbacks be able to do that, but not as freshmen, sophomores or juniors. It's usually their senior year. His cognitive knowledge of what the defense is trying to do to stop a specific play, he's able to put us in a better play."

Senior Jake Closser leads the experienced wide receiving corps. Named all-state by the coaches and media last season, Closser will be a slot receiver this fall. He led the Falcons with 1,056 yards receiving for 15 touchdowns as a junior.

"He possesses the ability to put the ball in the end zone every time he touches it," LePage said.

Seniors Carson Prenger and Cobi Marble return as outside receivers. Prenger had 492 yards receiving, while Marble led the team with 21.6 yards per catch.

"Both of them possess breakaway speed and have great hands, but they're also very selfless in their receiving," LePage said.

Reid Dudenhoeffer, a junior, is the fourth returning receiver, but he won't be at 100 percent to start the season after suffering an ACL injury in the offseason. Senior Cade Stockman will start in his place as the other slot receiver.

"By the time we were at Week 10 and 11 last year, you saw each one of the receivers running their routes expecting the ball," LePage said.

Junior Zach Herigon and sophomore Alec Wieberg will back up the outside receivers, while senior Ian Nolph, junior Cadon Garber and sophomore Wil Libbert are backups at slot receiver.

Of the skill positions, the lone new starter for Blair Oaks is senior Jayden Purdy at running back, taking over for three-year starter Riley Lentz. Senior Levi Haney will serve as his backup.

"Jayden's body is built for what we want at the running back position," LePage said. "He's not real tall in stature, but he's just incredibly strong. He is a two-step speed guy, he takes two steps and he's at full speed.

Blair Oaks graduated all five starting linemen from last season. They'll be replaced by three juniors and two sophomores.

Wyatt Bonnett, a sophomore, will start at center.

"He goes against the best nose guard in the state every day, in my opinion," LePage said. "He has learned a lot early."

The other sophomore starter, Kaden Hoelscher, will play left tackle. As for the juniors, Brysan Jeffries is at left guard, Griffin Herst is at right guard and Cale Willson is at right tackle.

Backing up the starting five are junior Austin Lange at left tackle, senior James Thomson at left guard, sophomore Sid Brownell at center, freshman Cole Peters at right guard and seniors Zach Goeller and Jacob Brentlinger at right tackle.

"I'm anxious to see how we take that first snap," LePage said. "If it's anything like what we've been building on, I think we'll be pleasantly surprised."

III

SCORING HAS BEEN at a premium the past few years against the Blair Oaks defense.

In the 2018 state championship season, the Falcons gave up 8.5 points per game and recorded five shutouts. Last season, it was 9.7 points per game and four shutouts.

"Our defense, we feel really good about where we're at," LePage said. "I wish we could give them more looks at practice."

Blair Oaks will continue to operate out of a 3-4 defense.

Up front at nose guard is senior Rylee Niekamp, the reigning Tri-County Conference Defensive MVP and a returning all-state player.

Niekamp led Blair Oaks with 11 sacks and added 11 tackles for loss last season, which was cut short due to a knee injury in the Falcons' district opener.

"He's incredibly strong, incredibly intelligent and fast - everything you want," LePage said.

Starting a right tackle is senior Nico Canale, who emerged as a starter during the second half of last season.

"He's almost a mirror image of Rylee," LePage said. "He's strong and physical."

Rounding out the front line is senior Carson Bax at left tackle. He matched Niekamp with 81 tackles last season, the most among defensive returners.

"All three of these guys started last year," LePage said. "Those three are always in competition in practice to see who can go get the ball first."

Backing them up is Jeffries at left tackle, Lange at nose guard and senior Devonte Sanders at right tackle.

There will be some new faces at linebacker this season, but one of the key returners for the Falcons is Stockman, who will be one of a handful of two-way players this season.

Stockman began his career as a fill-in at quarterback as a freshman, garnering a 5-0 record as a starter, but he has emerged as a staple of the Falcons' defense, starting 28 consecutive games.

"He has got game-breaking speed," LePage said of Stockman, who will move from outside linebacker to inside linebacker. "His cognitive abilities are outstanding, but his instincts are even better."

Haney is also on the move on defense, this time going from safety to the other middle linebacker position.

"The other night in the scrimmage, his instincts are really, really good in football," LePage said. "You saw him make some plays and you thought, 'Boy, where did he come from?'"

Senior Gavin Wekenborg, who is the backup quarterback, will get to start at outside linebacker, along with Nolph. However, Libbert will start the season opener in Nolph's place until he has enough practices to be eligible to play.

Other players who will get playing time at linebacker include Herst, Dudenhoeffer, Goeller and sophomore Holden Brand.

Prenger, a two-time all-state defensive back, returns at safety. He finished with 78 tackles and a pair of interceptions last season.

"He really does a good job of roaming around, making reads, seeing things and going to get the ball," LePage said.

Closser, who led the team with six interceptions in 2019, returns at cornerback.

"He's really working on his coverage and he's really been a leader for us," LePage said.

Marble will also be a two-way starter this season, filling the other cornerback position.

"This year, he has taken a real interest in defense, and it's going to be really good to have that speed of him and Closser out there on the edges," LePage said.

Wieberg will start at the other safety position. Garber and freshman Nick Closser will be backups at cornerback, while Herigon and sophomore John Bischoff will backup the safeties.

While the defense has limited scoring in most games the past two years, LePage said the 35 points scored by Cassville is still fresh in the players' minds.

"Thirty-five points is the most we've given up in the last two years since I've been here," LePage said. "I think that is something that has really burned into the D-line, that we're not going to get pushed around again."

III

THERE WON'T BE much of a change in special teams for Blair Oaks this season.

Herigon will remain the kicker after making 86 percent (67-of-78) of his extra-point attempts, as well as both field-goal attempts, last season. Wekenborg will continue to hold for him.

Jake Closser returns as punt and kick returner, scoring a pair of touchdowns on special teams last season.

The one change will be at punter to start the season. That duty will go to Wekenborg, who will fill in for Dudenhoeffer, an all-state punter, until he's closer to 100 percent later in the season.

III

THE KICKOFF CLASSIC between Blair Oaks and the Maryville Spoofhounds has lived up to the hype each of the past two seasons.

Blair Oaks has won both games in the Classic, which has been moved this year to Walton Stadium at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

"We've gotten off to great starts the last two years, and that's been key to the game," LePage said. "Once Maryville has gotten their legs under them, it's become a really tight football game. We really have to go out and have a good start."

Maryville's offense is the wing-T, but the Spoofhounds have been known to go to the passing game more than usual against the Falcons. Last season, Maryville had 206 yards passing to just 42 yards on the ground.

"We have been conscious not to be so lost in stopping the run that we're not alert at stopping the pass," LePage said.

Although Maryville has lost each of the past two meetings to Blair Oaks, the Spoofhounds have then gone on to win every game the rest of the regular season in both 2018 and 2019.

"This is going to be a heck of a football game, and it's a heck of a way to start the season," LePage said.