HALLSVILLE, Mo. - It was one of the most dramatic turnarounds you're ever going to see.
One week after giving up 47 points in a win against Eldon, the Blair Oaks defense came out and got the same result, but in a much different fashion.
The Falcons' D pitched a shutout Friday night, allowing just 11 yards of offense to the Hallsville Indians in a 48-0 victory.
Leading the way was the front four, as the Blair Oaks line held the Indians to minus-34 yards on 23 rushing attempts. In case you're not good at math, that's a minus-1.48 yards per carry.
"They played the way I've expected them to play all along," Blair Oaks head coach Terry Walker said. "Coming in and looking at the players we had on the defensive front, I really had incredibly high expectations. And I think they would be the first ones to tell you that up until this game, they had not played up to their potential.
"So I wasn't surprised by their performance. In fact, I fully expect us to have that kind of performance pretty much every single week - to control the line of scrimmage defensively and kind of dictate what the offense can and can't do."
It was more of "can't do" on Friday. The Indians had six different ballcarriers listed on the stat sheet, and four of them ended up with negative totals. One other had zero, and the team leader had just 3 yards on eight carries.
"We were definitely getting penetration and playing on their side of the line of scrimmage," Blair Oaks defensive end Chance Cumpton said. "Coach always says whoever controls the line of scrimmage is who's going to win the game."
Cumpton and fellow linemen Tanner Lueckenhoff, Owen Luebbering and Riley Boeckman were a big part of why Hallsville got past the 50-yard line just once all game. And that accomplishment was a bit misleading, as that field position came thanks to a Hallsville interception and a Blair Oaks personal foul on the return.
"We definitely thought it was possible (to keep them on their end of the field,)" Cumpton said. "It's something we're always shooting for. We know how good we can be and we're going out there trying to push ourselves. We've still got more to go, a lot to grow."
The Falcons were in control from the opening kickoff, even if it didn't go as planned. An onside kick appeared to be covered by the Indians at their own 42-yard line, but it was the Falcons who emerged with the ball.
"We weren't trying to do an onside kick," Walker said. "We were trying to squib-kick it, and (the kicker) just topped it. We got lucky and recovered the ball. It's better to be lucky than be good, right?"
Five plays later, Jordan Hair scored on a 4-yard run and Cody Alexander added the 2-point run and the Falcons were on their way to a win.
Blair Oaks scored 20 points in the second quarter to pull away.
Alexander capped a 10-play drive by scoring from 1 yard out on the first play of the second quarter, and the Falcons were up 14-0.
Later in the period, Adam Schell had a 52-yard interception return for a score. It was one of two interceptions for Schell, and teammate Drew Boessen had one, as the Blair Oaks secondary took advantage of the pressure the front four put on the two Hallsville quarterbacks all night.
"When you talk about football, everything starts with the front," Walker said. "It doesn't matter if it's the O-line or the D-line. If you set the pace with the front, it makes it a lot easier for the offensive backfield and the defensive backfield to do their job and make plays.
"Adam's return was a big one, that gave us another defensive score, and anytime you can get one of those is fantastic."
Alexander added a 3-yard rushing touchdown with 13 seconds left in the first half to make it 28-0 at intermission.
He got his third and fourth touchdowns of the game with runs of 78 yards and 1 yard in the third quarter.
"There's nothing that Cody does that really surprises me because he's such a good athlete," Walker said. "... I think he understands, and as a coaching staff we understand, that his success is part of a team. There's a lot of guys blocking for him and opening up holes and doing their jobs so he has an opportunity to do his."
The second-string offense played most of the final quarter, as the running clock was in effect due to the mercy rule. Jared Lootens got the Falcons' final score with just under two minutes remaining, as he followed up an 11-yard scamper with a 2-yard scoring run.
Blair Oaks moved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Tri-County Conference, while Hallsville dropped to 3-1 and 1-1. The Falcons return to action Friday for Homecoming against Southern Boone, which is 3-1 overall and 1-1 in league play.