WARDSVILLE, Mo. - It took just one play in the Jamboree two weeks ago to realize the Owensville Dutchmen were going to have a very different look this season.
The Blair Oaks Falcons will find out just how different when they host the Dutchmen tonight.
For years, the Dutchmen have used some massive offensive lines as the starting point for a run-heavy offense. They still boast some big players on the line, but that's where the similarities end.
"What's a little different is that offensively, they spread the field," Blair Oaks head coach Terry Walker said. "They'll go five-wide and you've got to be able to cover all five of them, because they'll throw to any one of them."
In a 55-16 loss to St. Francis Borgia in their season opener, the Dutchmen threw the ball almost 30 times. Sophomore quarterback Wyatt Ellis completed 13-of-28 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown.
"Their quarterback is an athletic kid, and he gets the ball out of his hands fast," Walker said. "We're going to have to do a great job of not only getting pre-snap reads with regard to formation and alignment, but also after the snap of the ball, reading the quarterback's posture to determine whether it's going to be a deep throw or a short throw. Once he decides what he's doing, then we've got to get 11 hats to the football."
Walker said Owensville's tendency so far is to lean more toward the pass than the run.
"But I don't know if it's a fair representation, because they were behind the whole time to Borgia," he said. "But between that game and the Jamboree, it's a 60-40 pass-to-run ratio."
The Dutchmen will have in interesting look in the backfield, as sophomore Dustin Faragher wears No. 80. Last week he had both of Owensville's TDs, one on a 67-yard run and the other on a 56-yard reception. He ended up rushing for 101 yards on nine carries and caught three passes for 78 yards.
"He's a really good-looking running back - he ran away from Borgia a couple times on film," Walker said. "He's got really good speed and he's another kid we've got to worry about. We've got to do a good job of getting to him."
On the defensive side of the ball, junior safety Robert Weirich had a huge game against Borgia, forcing a fumble and recovering it, recording seven solo tackles and posting two tackles for loss. Senior safety Wyatt Harrell and senior linebacker Matt Amptman had nine tackles apiece to lead the Dutchmen.
"They're primarily a four-man front with either a Cover-1 or Cover-3 behind it," Walker said. "You can't tell too much from the two tapes we have on them, but they'll bring their backers from time to time. I think they're going to be a tough challenge for us."
The Dutchmen will have a size advantage on the line, whether it be on offense or defense.
"Offensively, we need to know our blocking assignments and we need to stay on our blocks. If we do that, we'll be able to sustain some drives," Walker said. "Defensively, we need to understand what our gap is and play with gap integrity.
"Even though we are going to be undersized both offensively and defensively, we've still got a job to do and we've got to work as hard as we can to get it done."
Hard work was on display last week in the season-opening win at Moberly.
"The kids just kept right on fighting, they battled," Walker said. "It wasn't always pretty offensively or defensively, but we made more plays than Moberly did and that's why we won the game."
The Falcons employed one of those typical bend-but-don't-break defenses in the 42-18 win.
"Moberly did some great things offensively and I think they're going to have a real successful year," Walker said. "But our mindset all year long has been to make the other team's offense drive the length of the field. If we do that, I like our chances that somewhere in there, we're going to make a play. That bore itself out against Moberly."
Walker added he would like to see improved tackling this week.
"I thought we missed a few too many tackles," he said. "Some of that is to be expected because you're not going live as much in practice as what we did years ago, so the kids have to kind of play into it a little bit. Fundamentally, we need to be sound and make sure we're wrapping up when we have the opportunity and bringing the guy fully to the ground."
The Falcons did a good job of gang-tackling against the Spartans.
"I think Blair Oaks has always done a good job with that, and watching tape from last year, they did a good job of getting hats to the football," Walker said. "There's no substitute for chasing the football and we're going to need to continue that, not just against Owensville, but every team we play."
Notes: After several years of opening against Moberly and following that with a game against Owensville, the Falcons' schedule will change next year. The Week 1 opponent will be Kirksville, followed by a game against Oak Grove, the defending Class 3 state champions. ... The Falcons emerged relatively injury-free from last week. "We're doing pretty good," Walker said. "We're still missing Heath Branch, who's out with a foot injury. Jake Van Ronzelen, who's been nursing a sore ankle, has been able to practice all week and Cody Alexander, who's nursing a hamstring, has been able to practice all week."
Blair Oaks hosts Owensville - Updates on Twitter: @tony_hawley.
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