Blair Oaks wins battle of unbeatens against Osage

Cody Alexander of Blair Oaks is tackled during the Falcons' game against School of the Osage on Friday at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
Cody Alexander of Blair Oaks is tackled during the Falcons' game against School of the Osage on Friday at the Falcon Athletic Complex.

WARDSVILLE - Nothing seemed to go right for the Blair Oaks Falcons in the first quarter Friday night. When the second quarter began, nothing could go wrong.

Blair Oaks scored on the first play of the second quarter and then took the lead five minutes later, rallying past the School of the Osage Indians for a 40-16 win at the Falcon Athletic Complex.

With the win, Blair Oaks (7-0) holds sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Conference with a 5-0 record. Osage (6-1) falls one game behind Blair Oaks with a 4-1 record in conference play following the matchup between the two Class 3 state-ranked teams.

"I thought the lights were looking kind of big for (our players)," Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said. "But once they kind of settled into the game, I think they settled down and they just started focusing on doing their job."

Osage scored on its first two possessions, starting with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Zach Wheeler to James McCann. Jason Edwards added the extra point to make the score 7-0 just 45 seconds into the game.

The Indians struck again with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Wheeler to Drake Gaines later in the opening quarter, extending the lead to 13-0.

Blair Oaks finished a 15-play, 59-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Nolan Hair to Braydan Pritchett on the first play of the second quarter. Less than three minutes later, Hair found Ben Thomas for a 18-yard touchdown strike. The Falcons failed on both 2-point conversions, leaving Osage with a 13-12 lead with 9:09 to play in the second quarter.

After a 24-yard field goal by Edwards to add to the Osage lead, Blair Oaks answered with a 46-yard catch-and-run by Cody Alexander. That touchdown gave Blair Oaks a 20-16 lead it would not relinquish with 6:52 to play in the first half.

Jake Van Ronzelen had touchdown runs of 1 and 56 yards in the third quarter to add to the Blair Oaks lead. Alexander also had a 4-yard touchdown run with 4:58 to play in the fourth quarter.

Osage committed four turnovers, fumbling twice in the first half and then throwing a pair of interceptions - both caught by Alexander - in the second half.

"In the second half, we weren't consistent with anything we were doing," Osage coach Devin Johnson said. "We didn't find any rhythm at all."

Van Ronzelen had 21 carries for 180 yards and Alexander finished with eight catches for 122 yards to lead the Falcons. Hair completed 26-of-37 passes for 293 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

Wheeler was 18-of-31 passing for 241 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Dylan Riley led the Osage rushing attack with four carries for 47 yards.

Blair Oaks - ranked No. 2 - will travel next Friday to play at California, while Osage - ranked No. 9 - will host Eldon.

Notes: In commemoration with the school district celebrating its 50th anniversary, Blair Oaks honored two past football teams at halftime. The ceremony started with the 1976 team, the first Blair Oaks football team, which posted a 7-2 record. The Falcons also honored the 2006 football team, celebrating its 10th anniversary of winning the Class 2 state championship.