WARDSVILLE - It's Homecoming week for Blair Oaks, and the Falcons are hoping to treat it like just another week on the schedule.
"We've talked to the kids a lot about the importance of being focused, not just for Homecoming week, but every week," Blair Oaks head coach Terry Walker said. "We talked about it that on Saturday when we came in to review film, we talk about it pretty much every day before and after practice.
"It's not like this is the first Homecoming for a lot of these kids, so it shouldn't be a new drill for them. If you're going to be a good football team, you've got to figure out how to handle some of the distractions that go along with the season and overcome them."
A positive for Blair Oaks is having 14 seniors who have been a part of Homecoming games before.
"It's certainly nice to have the experience we do," Walker said. "All the kids who are seniors, especially the four captains (Adam Schell, Jordan Hair, Chance Cumpton and C.J. Closser), have done a really good job of making sure that the team has stayed relatively focused.
"We need to make sure we keep doing that and prepare the best we can. Then when (tonight) comes, just try to go out and play as relaxed as we can."
The Falcons (4-0 overall, 2-0 Tri-County Conference) will take on Southern Boone (3-1, 1-1) at 7 p.m. today at the Falcon Athletic Complex, and the Eagles boast a veteran squad as well.
"When you look at their skill positions, they've got a senior quarterback, a junior running back and a senior running back," Walker said. "So they've got some experience back there, and those kids are good athletes, so on any given play, they have the opportunity to have the ball in the hands of one of those three guys."
Dane Bossert (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) is the quarterback, and he's flanked by senior Laron Wallace (5-10, 180) and junior Tanner Smith (5-10, 200) at the running backs.
"They run out of a pistol, two-back set," Walker said. "They'll do some spread stuff, and they've got receivers that can catch the ball."
Those receivers include junior Colin Vaughan (6-1, 180) and senior Gannon Mueller (6-3, 200).
"When you look at it from a defensive perspective, they have a lot of different weapons, which means we have to be really sharp in our alignments and our set recognition and then anticipate what they're trying to do to us," Walker said.
Walker added the Eagles have two ways they can strike.
"They have the kids at the skill positions that will run over you if you're not ready to tackle them, or they can run around you if you're not taking a good angle to the football," he said.
Wallace was out with an injury in Southern Boone's lone loss, a 20-17 defeat in triple overtime to Hallsville.
"He definitely makes their team better," Walker said. "He runs the ball well and he plays cornerback on defense. He's a really good athlete for them, he gives them another dimension and is another weapon we've got to prepare for."
Southern Boone's defense is giving up just 10.5 points per contest and has shut out two opponents so far.
"It looks like they're running out of an odd front, 20 years ago I would have called it a 5-2 defense, now they're calling it kind of a 3-4 defense," Walker said. "They're not afraid to bring their outside linebackers off the edge. They give you a lot of problems with how they're attacking, especially if you're a team that likes to work on the perimeter or likes to try to get the ball to the perimeter. They can certainly challenge you in that area."
"They're a senior-laden team, they've got some experience that's been around two or three years, so it's going to be a tough contest," Walker said. "The coach there (Trent Tracy) has done a really good job of establishing their football program and establishing a culture of success.
"... They've pointed toward this game, like many teams do when we play them, they're going to use this game as a measuring point for how far they've come. So from our perspective, we expect to get their very best effort and we've been delivering that message to our kids."
Notes: The Falcons come into the game relatively free of injuries, although running back/defensive back Jake Van Ronzelen didn't play last week with a shoulder problem. Walker said makes him doubtful for this week. ... Southern Boone started the year with back-to-back shutouts, beating St. Pius X: Festus (50-0) and South Callaway (48-0) before falling to Hallsville. The Eagles bounced back last week with a 37-22 win against School of the Osage. ... Hallsville is the only common opponent so far for Blair Oaks and Southern Boone, as the Falcons beat Hallsville 48-0 last week. ... Blair Oaks is slated to travel to Tri-County Conference foe School of the Osage next Friday night. Southern Boone is scheduled for its third straight road game next week when it travels to California to take on the Pintos in a conference contest.
Blair Oaks hosts Southern Boone - Updates on Twitter: @tony_hawley and @SBooneHS. Watch live online: ustre.am/duZr
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