WARDSVILLE, Mo. - Last week, a familiar problem popped up for Blair Oaks, and it cost the Falcons a chance at a win.
So, without trying to put too much emphasis on it, they'll do their best to avoid it this week.
The Falcons committed five turnovers in a 21-10 loss to California, continuing a season-long trend of miscues. It's created an interesting dilemma for the Blair Oaks coaching staff.
"It's kind of a Catch-22," Blair Oaks head coach Brad Drehle said. "It's like being a teacher in class, like being a parent at home. As soon as you say, "Don't do something,' what do they do? So you don't want to harp on it."
But it's not like the Falcons are burying their heads in the sand and not dealing with it.
"You try to build the skills to hang on to the football," Drehle said. "You line up formations and you show them what to do, because if you say don't do it, sure enough, guess what's going to happen.
"You just try to work around those things and deal with them. We've run hills (as punishment). We've put grooves in the hill. Now it's about taking some responsibility and making every play important. You can't take one off."
The Falcons (5-2 overall, 3-2 Tri-County Conference) appear to have an opponent they can get back on track against, as the Warsaw Wildcats (2-5, 1-4) come to Wardsville for a 7 p.m. game today.
"We can't take anybody for granted, the Hallsville loss proved that to us," Drehle said. "If, for whatever reason, you don't prepare right and get your mind right, stuff happens. We don't want to be in that position.
"Hopefully Senior Night will add a little extra fire for the kids and they'll be ready to go. I think they will. They left the locker room (after the California game) the other night in a different place and a different mood (with more focus). I think we're headed in the right direction."
In the Falcons' 56-35 win against the Wildcats last year, it appeared a young Warsaw team would be a load this year. But one offseason move stunted that growth, as quarterback Jeremy Eierman decided against going on for football this year to concentrate on baseball. He was a force in that game, as he completed completed 13-of-29 passes for 214 yards and carried the ball 37 times for 182 yards.
But the Wildcats do have one other player who had a monster night in last year's game, as wide receiver/defensive back Bailey Jelinek returns. The senior had seven catches for 160 yards in that game at Warsaw.
"Jelinek is the real deal," Drehle said. "He can be a player for anybody. I don't care what team you put him on, he's going to find the field."
Jelinek is such a good athlete the Wildcats will even line him up at quarterback in Wildcat formations.
"We need to identify him," Drehle said. "That's the biggest thing. There will be some things in coverage that we'll do (when he's a receiver) to try to help us with him. You've got to get contact on him early. And if he lines up at quarterback, it's about reading your keys. When you start watching the football, that's when you get in trouble. You need to read your keys and play sound, fundamental football."
Jelinek has 25 of the Wildcats' 39 receptions this year, and they've gone for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Warsaw runs on roughly 80 percent of its offensive plays, so catches are hard to come by.
Drehle said the Wildcats' primary quarterback, sophomore Will Bunch, has done a good job this year.
"He's steadily improved," Drehle said. "As it's gone on, he's thrown the ball a little bit better, with some more authority. He's not a real big kid, but he does a good job of getting the ball to the right places."
Austin Steenburgen, a junior, is the Wildcats' leading rusher with 484 yards on 105 carries with two touchdowns. Ryan Todd, a senior, is next on the squad with 378 yards on 72 carries with two scores.
"It is an old, pro-style, line up and come at you type of offense," Drehle said. "They do an extremely good job in their down-block stuff. They like to run toss and pull and get out front, they'll run counter and get out front.
"If something works, they stay with it and grind and grind and grind. So you have to be able to control the line of scrimmage. ... Our goal going into any game is always to take away what you do well and force you to do the other. If we can do that, we feel like it gives us an advantage. So obviously our goal going in is to take away the run and force them to do something else."
Drehle said Warsaw's defense boasts some good size on the line with a couple players to be concerned about. Ryan Todd, a senior linebacker, leads the Wildcats with 78 tackles, while Steenburgen is second with 76 at another linebacker spot.
"(Steenburgen) runs really well and makes plays sideline to sideline," Drehle said. "Twice against Hallsville, Hallsville got outside and he ran plays down."
The Falcons got some bad news coming out of last week. Offensive lineman/linebacker Levi Dial, who left the California game with an injury, found out he tore the ACL in his right knee. That comes on the heels of tearing the ACL in his left knee twice.
"It breaks your heart as a coach," Drehle said. "You watch a kid work and do everything's he's done, and everything he did before he tore it to make himself a football player, strong and physical and fast, and now, he's torn one three times in 15 months. I've never heard of that."
The injury will bring about changes on both sides of the ball.
"Tanner Lueckenhoff will play a lot more on the defensive line, Cole Bisges will get a rotation in there, and Patrick Murray and Nick Stegmann could see some time in there," Drehle said. "We'll just have to make it work. Tanner does a nice job, he's just not as big as Levi. Tanner gives a different look because of his speed and Levi gave you a little more size.
"We've got confidence in Tanner, he makes plays. It would just be nice to have a little bit extra weight. You go from 170 pounds (with Lueckenhoff) to 210 (with Dial), that's a significant change."
Notes: In last year's game at Warsaw, Jordan Hair set the Blair Oaks single-game passing mark with 396 yards. He completed 16-of-22 passes and had four touchdowns. ... Jelinek wasn't the only receiver to have a big game in that contest, as Blair Oaks' Mikel Drehle caught seven balls for 177 yards and teammate Haydn Lock had seven catches for 175 yards.
Blair Oaks hosts Warsaw - Updates on Twitter: @tony_hawley.
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