UPDATE:
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Levi Petersen ran for 254 yards and four touchdowns to lead Lamar to a 69-41 win over Blair Oaks in Missouri's Class 2 state championship game on Saturday.
Lamar (13-2) won its second successive title. It beat Lafayette County 49-19 in last year's championship contest.
Petersen, who finishes the season with 38 touchdowns, scored twice in 85 seconds in the fourth quarter to erase a 34-33 deficit. His 7-yard run with 9:46 remaining put Lamar in front for good 41-34.
Blair Oaks (13-2) was making its first title game appearance since 2007. It won championships in 2004 and 2006.
Read complete game details in our newspaper and e-Edition for Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012.
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Pre-game coverage, posted earlier:
WARDSVILLE, Mo. - When you're playing in a state title game, you know your opponent is going to be very good.
And when that team is the defending state champion with several returning starters, it's obvious they're going to be a handful.
So the Lamar Tigers, who will meet Blair Oaks at 2:15 p.m. today at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis in the Class 2 championship game, will pose a tough task for the Falcons. But how tough?
"They're big, they're fast, they run a unique offense, they play lights-out on defense, they play extremely fast and aggressive," Blair Oaks coach Brad Drehle said. "You've got to find a way to try to slow them down somewhat on offense and control field position and then find ways to score. It may be one of those things where it needs to become a track meet on offense for us to have a chance.
"They're playing very well. I looked at some stats and they're pretty gaudy. Their winning margin since they started the playoffs is 65-12. That's phenomenal."