WARDSVILLE, Mo. - It wasn't a blowout, but it was still a shutout.
The Blair Oaks Falcons opened Tri-County Conference play Friday night, getting a strong showing from their defense in a 36-0 win against the Versailles Tigers at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
Blair Oaks has outscored Versailles 176-0 in their past three meetings, but unlike last year's back-to-back 70-0 wins, the Falcons offense showed signs of inconsistency early Friday.
"There were times when we executed fairly well and there were certainly a lot of other times where we didn't execute real well," Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said. "I hate to keep harping on the inexperience, but we got to learn from this. We have to figure out how to play to our level and not anyone else's."
Blair Oaks scored on its first possession of the game with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Nolan Hair - his fourth rushing score of the season - just 2:23 into the contest. The Falcons added two more touchdowns in the second quarter with a 14-yard run by Jake Van Ronzelen and a 25-yard catch by Ben Thomas, giving Blair Oaks a 22-0 lead at halftime.
Van Ronzelen left the game late in the second quarter with an injury after making a hit on Versailles quarterback David Connor. The Blair Oaks senior did not return in the second half for precautionary reasons and finished the game with eight carries for 70 yards.
Brenden Brown carried the Falcons' backfield during the second half, finishing with a game-high 81 rushing yards on seven carries. He had a 5-yard touchdown run with 4:10 left in the third quarter to extend the Blair Oaks lead to 30-0.
Hair connected on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Braydan Pritchett in the fourth quarter, which triggered a running clock with 9:57 to play. A different player scored each of the Falcons' five touchdowns.
Hair was 9-of-18 passing for 155 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Ethan Luebbering had two catches for 66 yards.
The Blair Oaks defense recorded its second shutout of the season and held Versailles to just 96 yards of total offense. Grant Hutchison led the Tigers with 15 carries for 43 yards.
"It's always nice to get a shutout, because that means our defense is doing something good," said Blair Oaks defensive lineman Mason Gipe.
Blair Oaks (3-0) will play next Friday at Eldon. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
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