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Enjoying the comforts of home

Blair Oaks offense finding itself at home against Southern Boone

By Greg Jackson [email protected]

WARDSVILLE — The Blair Oaks Falcons have only played on their home field three times this season, but it’s clear they have a distinct home-field advantage.

Blair Oaks scored 10 touchdowns for the second straight time at home, rolling along to a 71-34 victory against the Southern Boone Eagles at the Falcon Athletic Complex.

In those three home games, Blair Oaks is averaging 67.7 points per game, and Friday’s victory was the Falcons’ 100th win all-time at the Falcon Athletic Complex, which opened at the start of the 2006 season.

In Ted LePage’s first stint as Blair Oaks head coach from 2001-05, the Falcons played their home games at Lincoln’s Dwight T. Reed Stadium. He said the Falcons have taken full advantage of having a football field on the school campus, posting a 100-11 record in the past 16 years.

“What a facility,” LePage said. “It is a home-field advantage.”

Friday was also Senior Night for Blair Oaks’ six seniors: Cadon Garber, Zach Goeller, Zach Herigon, Griffin Herst, Brysan Jeffries and Cale Willson.

Since the start of the 2018 season, Blair Oaks is 25-1 on its home field, the only loss coming in the 2019 state quarterfinals against Cassville.

“You have to thank every senior you have,” LePage said. “When a senior comes through here for four years, it’s tough, there’s a lot of work.

“In two of the past four years, our season has been 15 weeks. At that age, that’s a lot of football, so we’re really appreciative of our seniors and I congratulate them.”

Blair Oaks’ offense totaled 675 yards against Southern Boone.

“We just want to have fun playing offense, and I think our players are having fun playing offense,” LePage said.

LePage wanted to emphasize the Falcons’ passing game Friday, and they did, to the tune of a career-high 425 yards passing by Dylan Hair.

Now all three Hair siblings have thrown for 400 yards in a game at Blair Oaks. Nolan Hair threw for a career-high 406 yards in the 2017 district championship game against Mexico, while Jordan Hair holds the Blair Oaks single-game record with 466 yards passing in a 2015 district first-round game against Eldon.

“It’s tough to defend all areas of the field,” LePage said. “We threw it deep, we threw it short, we ran the ball effectively. We feel like we’re really moving in to where we want to be offensively.”

The Falcons also rushed the ball 28 times against the Eagles, averaging 8.9 yards per carry. Dylan Hair and Cadon Garber each had two touchdown runs, and Jake Hagner took over for Hair late in the fourth quarter and scored on a 55-yard run.

“We want to be able to say, ‘You better step back,’ but at the same time, we can get you where we need to get you,” LePage said. “We want to run the football, make no mistake about it. But we also want to throw.”

Blair Oaks continued to tinker with an offense that features five receivers and an empty backfield. Hair was 20-of-33 passing, and Alec Wieberg and Wil Libbert each had more than 100 yards receiving.

“We have five receivers that we feel can really go get the ball,” LePage said. “And then we have Cadon, so really, it’s six guys. Let’s start stretching the field, and let’s see people start to panic on defense.”

Nick Closser had a 79-yard touchdown grab and Adam Hall added a 39-yard score. Zach Herigon and Wieberg also had touchdown receptions.

Each team had a kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter. Bradly Smith ran it back from 79 yards for the Eagles, while Herigon answered with a 90-yard return for the Falcons’ first special teams score of the season.

The Blair Oaks defense held Southern Boone to 365 yards offensively, and the 142 yards rushing is the Falcons’ third-lowest total allowed this season.

But the four touchdowns allowed were either big plays or were set up by big plays for the Eagles.

“There were a couple that were communication issues,” LePage said. “Just talk. We have so many young guys out there, and they don’t talk. Let’s get after this.

“We played really good defense at times. We know it’s there, we just have to get out of the roller coaster. We have to be on a consistent path.”

Blair Oaks fumbled the opening kickoff, and Southern Boone started on the Falcons’ 15-yard line. The Blair Oaks defense stopped three straight runs by the Eagles, and a blocked 29-yard field-goal attempt prevented the Falcons from trailing in the opening two minutes.

“We got a stop in a very, very wrong environment,” LePage said. “That could’ve turned out ugly and put us behind, and it would’ve been a very scary situation for us. It wasn’t. Our defense went out and did its part.

“We’re going to continue to get better, it’s a work in progress.”

The Falcons tried a few new looks defensively against the Eagles.

At times, they put all linemen and linebackers on the line, then the linebackers pulled back before the snap. Then on a handful of plays, all four linebackers would creep up to the line prior to the snap, and Blair Oaks sent seven players on a blitz.

“I’m trying to get us excited about playing defense,” LePage said. “… Let’s take chances. It gave us some negative plays, but it’s also going to give you an opportunity to give up big plays, so we didn’t panic.”

Class 3 No. 8 Blair Oaks (6-2) will play its sixth regular-season game away from home Friday at School of the Osage (3-5).

In the District 5 standings, the Falcons — currently the No. 3 seed — are assured of a home game in Week 10 to open the postseason, but with a win in that game, Blair Oaks would likely be back on the road for the rest of district play.

Doesn’t matter. They’re used to it by now.

“They’re going to have to really watch when we come into town, they’re going to have to play their best football,” LePage said.

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2021-10-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.newstribune.com/article/282230898883067

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