Falcons to face Pintos in Tri-County Conference clash of state-ranked teams

Hayden Lock of Blair Oaks moves up the field with the football during last Friday’s game against School of the Osage at the Falcon Athletic Complex. Photo by Kris Wilson.

By Tony Hawley

Originally published September 27, 2012 at 6:57 p.m., updated September 27, 2012 at 11:53 p.m.

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Blair Oaks vs. California audio slide show

WARDSVILLE, Mo. — On Friday, the Blair Oaks Falcons will be looking to do something nobody’s done against California this season — score a touchdown against the Pintos’ first-team defense.

California has outscored its first five opponents 203-26, with seven of those points coming on a special-teams touchdown and the rest against the reserves.

So while Blair Oaks’ high-octane offense will be looking to keep pace with California’s potent attack, they’ll also have to overcome the Pintos’ tough defense.

“Style-wise, they’re very similar to what we do (on defense) in that they attack you with speed,” Blair Oaks coach Brad Drehle said. “They’re playing man coverage all over the place and they’ve forced a lot of turnovers. ... Those kids are obviously playing with a lot of confidence and they’re playing very fast, and they’ve got to tackle well in order to do that.”

Read area high school football previews every Thursday in the Sports Section of our newspaper or e-Edition.

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