WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The Blair Oaks Falcons got a defensive touchdown, a special-teams score and a field goal to go with five touchdowns from the offense in a well-rounded 52-12 rout of the Warsaw Wildcats on Friday night.
It made for a happy Senior Night at the Falcon Athletic Complex, as those seniors were able to head to the sidelines early with the game well in hand by halftime. The Falcons led 45-6 at the break and the entire second half was played with a running clock due to the mercy rule.
You had a feel it was going to be the Falcons' night when the first two plays by the Wildcats, both runs, netted a minus-2 yards. The next one, another run from the Wildcats' 5-yard line, lost another 2 yards before Peyton Wilde ripped the ball loose. It bounced into the end zone, where Tanner Lueckenhoff pounced on it for a touchdown with 10:35 left in the first quarter.
"That was huge," Blair Oaks coach Brad Drehle said.
Warsaw's next drive ended in a punt, which Adam Schell returned 46 yards to put Blair Oaks in great field position at the Wildcats' 28.
Five plays later, the Falcons made it 14-0 when Jordan Hair hit Dominic Jamerson with a 10-yard touchdown pass at the 6:02 mark.
Another punt was returned 17 yards by Schell and the Falcons went on a three-play, 58-yard drive. A 3-yard run by Caleb Bischoff was followed by a 33-yard pass from Hair to Jamerson, and then a 22-yard scoring pass from Hair to Mikel Drehle.
At that point, it was 21-0 despite Blair Oaks having just an 89-28 edge in total yardage.
"You get a defensive touchdown and kick returns like that and things like that happen," Brad Drehle said.
When another Warsaw drive stalled, Schell returned the ensuing punt 41 yards. Seven plays later, Blair Oaks made it 28-0 with an 18-yard pass from Hair to C.J. Closser with 10:45 left until halftime.
Warsaw finally responded, capping a 71-yard drive with a 3-yard run by Austin Steenburgen with 6:59 left in the second quarter.
But Schell gave the momentum right back to the Falcons when he took the ensuing kickoff at the 8. He returned it to the 35, where it was stripped, but it took one bounce right back into Schell's hands and he rambled the rest of the way for a 92-yard score. With 6:44 left in the half, it was 35-6.
"It felt good," Schell said of the start to the game. "We wanted our seniors to have a good night on Senior Night. ... We wanted to come out and make a statement and have a good night."
Warsaw punted away from Schell when the next drive stalled, but it didn't matter. Blair Oaks went 69 yards in 11 plays, capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hair to Mikel Drehle with 1:21 left in the half.
The Wildcats failed to cover the ensuing kickoff and Blair Oaks recovered, leading to a 22-yard field goal by Chris Cooper with 10 seconds left before intermission.
Each team got a third-period score. Blair Oaks on a 55-yard run by Caleb Bischoff with 9:00 left and Warsaw on a 49-yard pass from Will Bunch to Bailey Jelinek at the 5:15 mark.
Blair Oaks ended up with a 348-208 edge in total yardage. Hair completed 12-of-15 passes for 160 yards, while the Falcons had 188 yards rushing on 33 carries. Caleb Bischoff led all ballcarriers with 107 yards on 15 carries.
Warsaw had 150 yards rushing on 33 carries and completed 4-of-12 passes for 58 yards.
Blair Oaks is now 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the Tri-County Conference, while Warsaw falls to 2-6 and 1-5.
The Falcons close out the regular season with a home game Friday against Versailles.