WARDSVILLE - The Blair Oaks Falcons haven't been able to play every Tri-County Conference opponent this season, but they are still one win from closing their sixth straight season without a conference defeat.
Blair Oaks wraps up the regular season tonight against the School of the Osage Indians. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
Osage (3-5, 2-3 Tri-County) snapped a four-game losing streak last Friday with a 43-21 win against the Versailles Tigers.
"They may be the most explosive offense we've seen, and we've seen a lot of really good ones," Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said. "They can run the ball, they can throw the ball, they do a lot of great things."
The Indians enter tonight's game averaging 35 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Tri-County. Last month, Osage put up 50 points in a loss to Hallsville.
Osage's offense is led by junior Brock McLaughlin, a dual-threat quarterback who has thrown for 1,170 yards and has rushed for 805 yards with 22 total touchdowns.
Not too shabby, considering McLaughlin missed a game two weeks ago against O'Fallon Christian with a shoulder injury.
"He can sling it all around the field," LePage said. "He really does a good job of finding receivers."
The Tri-County is known for having quality dual-threat quarterbacks year in and year out, such as Sam Stichnote and Coby Williams in recent years.
LePage said while Stichnote was more of a power-running quarterback, McLaughlin is more of an "elusive" runner.
"He's a running back when he has his hands on the ball," LePage said.
McLaughlin was one of three Indians to rush for 100 or more yards against Versailles, posting six carries for 100 yards. Senior Jack Creasy led Osage with 14 carries for 124 yards, giving him 498 yards rushing this season.
"He's an offset back that they like to do their outside veer package with," LePage said. "Very strong, very powerful."
Sophomore Eric Hood added 13 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns, putting him at 580 yards rushing for the season.
"He really can run the ball," LePage said. "If he gets his head and shoulders going downhill, he is a load to bring down. He's got tremendous speed."
Osage averages 304 yards rushing and 161.1 yards passing per game. A big reason the Indians average more than 450 yards of offense is because of their big offensive line.
Leading the offensive line is senior tackle Brody Wisecarver (6-5, 290), a transfer from De Smet that has committed to Illinois.
"If he puts his hands on you, you're going to get driven," LePage said. "He's a big load. He sits in a college stance, they've already got him in a two-point stance. He sits back and he just pile drives people."
Junior Keigan Vaughn had 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns last week against Versailles. He has 347 yards receiving this season, while sophomore Hunter Graber leads the Indians with 414 yards receiving.
While Osage's offense has piled up the points, so have opposing teams against the Indians' defense, which is allowing 44.5 points per game.
LePage said Osage has used a three-man front most of the season. The exception was the Hallsville game, when the Indians' switched to a four-man front to defend against the option game.
"I'm assuming we're going to see a three-man front, but again, what I assume and what we get are two different things," LePage said. "They'll do variations, they'll bring guys down from everywhere."
LePage added the Indians will bring two or three linebackers up to the line at times.
"This will be the most blitzing, or stunting, team we have seen," he said.
Wisecarver turns around and plays nose guard on the defensive line, clogging the gaps between the tackles.
"When teams bounce it outside, they have such tremendous speed, they're able to run it down a lot," LePage said.
Keigan Vaughn, a defensive back, leads the Indians with 54 tackles, while sophomore Konner Vaughn, also a defensive back, is next with 50 tackles.
However, Osage has only been able to force eight turnovers in eight games. By comparison, Blair Oaks has forced 28 turnovers - 15 fumbles, 13 interceptions - in eight games.
"A lot of people, by design, are taking 4 yards and being happy with that," LePage said. "There have been a lot of long drives on them, and in high school football, that's hard to do, to line up and drive again and again."
Blair Oaks (7-1, 5-0 Tri-County) is coming off a 42-21 win last Friday against Southern Boone. It was only the second game this season in which the Falcons' first-string offense and defense played the entire 48 minutes.
The Falcon defense spent 35 of the game's 48 minutes on the field, holding the Eagles to three touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Blair Oaks offense scored six touchdowns in the remaining 13 minutes.
"They exposed some situations on us, but our players played through it," LePage said. "We were without three coaches last week but our players still responded in a harsh environment against a highly ranked team."
Notes: Blair Oaks remains No. 4 in Class 3 in this week's Missouri Media Rankings. The top seven teams in Class 3 stayed in the same order, while Cassville moved up to No. 8 and Oak Grove and Maryville - which played Blair Oaks in the season opener - are tied at No. 9. Southern Boone (4-3, 2-1 Tri-County) dropped out of the top 10 following last Friday's loss. Blair Oaks holds a 28-16 record in the all-time series against Osage. The Falcons have won 20 of the last 21 meetings dating back to 1999. Blair Oaks is currently the No. 2 seed in Class 3 District 4 with 46.05 points, trailing top-seeded Centralia with 46.79 points. Centralia (7-0), ranked No. 5 in Class 3, plays tonight at Class 2 No. 1 Palmyra (8-0). Senior defensive lineman Rylee Niekamp suffered a right shoulder injury in last Friday's win against Southern Boone. LePage said Niekamp will be a game-time decision to play tonight.