OSAGE BEACH, Mo. - It's a huge, special game for just about everyone involved.
Except the respective head coaches.
For School of the Osage coach Devin Johnson and Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker, today's Tri-County Conference showdown between their unbeaten, state-ranked teams is important - but not more than any of the prior games on their respective schedules.
After three straight home games, Osage hits the road to take on the Blair Oaks Falcons tonight. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Both teams come in 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference. Blair Oaks, a state semifinalist a year ago, is ranked No. 2 and Osage has moved up from No. 10 to No. 9 in this week's Missouri Media Class 3 state poll.
And both are coming off blowout victories from last week, as Blair Oaks whipped Southern Boone 42-13 and Osage topped Versailles 42-6.
Osage and Blair Oaks are atop the standings in their respective districts, with the Indians leading the Class 3 District 3 race with 47 points, ahead of unbeaten Owensville at 45.65, while the Falcons pace Class 3 District 6 with 49.84 points, outdistancing runner-up Mexico's 45.34.
"I told our kids it's a big week, but it's a big week next week and a big week the week after that," Johnson said. "For us, it's about getting better every single rep. It's bigger because there is more hype to it. But we're taking it like we're playing Versailles or anyone else. We want to be in a good spot going into district. This is a big game, but not the biggest game."
"From the fans' perspective, it's a great matchup," Walker said. "From the coaches' perspective, it's Week 7. We don't do anything different from week to week. We try not to place too much emphasis on a particular game."
Regardless, when a pair of unbeaten teams hook up seven weeks in, it's going to draw attention, and this one will likely determine the conference championship.
"It will probably come down to who makes the fewest mistakes and the players' reaction to mistakes," Johnson said. "Consistently, (Blair Oaks) expects to win; they have a culture of that. From a program standpoint they do a good job creating that."
"They are a fundamentally sound and disciplined team," Walker said of Osage. "You can certainly tell they are well-coached. They have had an opportunistic defense the last couple of weeks and have a big line. It will be a good football game."
Blair Oaks has been the most explosive team in the area, averaging 40.5 points and 407.9 yards per game. And on defense the Falcons have allowed just 10.0 points per game, including a pair of shutouts.
The Falcons feature a balanced offensive attack.
Sophomore quarterback Nolan Hair has completed 71-of-122 passes for 1,058 yards, seven interceptions and 14 touchdowns while rushing for 122 yards on 71 carries and eight touchdowns.
Senior Jake Van Ronzelen leads the Falcon ground game with 734 yards on 71 carries and five touchdowns while senior running back/wideout Cody Alexander has 198 yards on 48 carries and two TDs, and senior Brenden Brown has 186 yards on 25 carries and three TDs.
Sophomore wideout Ben Thomas has caught 17 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns while Alexander has 17 catches for 274 yards and four touchdowns; sophomore wideout Braydan Pritchett has 17 receptions for 222 yards and five touchdowns and junior wideout Ethan Luebbering 11 catches for 186 yards.
Last week against Southern Boone, the Falcons rushed for a season-high 331 yards.
Junior linebacker Drew Boessen leads Blair Oaks in tackles with 60 (33 solo) while Brown, a linebacker, has 51 tackles (30 solo); Pritchett, a free safety, has 40 tackles (28 solo) and two interceptions; Alexander, an all-state cornerback, has 33 tackles and two interceptions; Van Ronzelen, a cornerback, has three interceptions; senior lineman Mason Gipe has 11 tackles for losses and junior lineman Justin Cobb has 3.5 sacks.
"They have a quick defensive line and secondary and have the ability to make big plays down the field," Johnson said of Blair Oaks. "You've got to be as physical as you can for 48 minutes. Offensively they're really balanced, about 50-50 run and pass. You've got to be consistent against them in all phases of the game."
"You have to feel good about where we're at," Walker said. "We knew going in we were going to have some inexperience, starting three sophomores on offense and three on defense. So we've got five or six guys on both sides of the ball who haven't played a ton of football."
The Indians have been nearly as explosive, averaging 36.5 points a game and allowing just 14.8.
Junior quarterback Zach Wheeler has hit on 55-of-97 passes for 806 yards, four interceptions and 10 touchdowns for Osage while rushing for 104 yards on 18 carries and three more touchdowns.
Junior running back Nick Riley has 480 rushing yards on 54 carries and senior Dylan Riley has run for 206 yards and six touchdowns.
Indian senior wideout Jason Edwards has caught 17 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns, junior wideout Drake Gaines has 16 catches for 224 yards and two scores and sophomore wideout Dalton Depee has eight catches for 167 yards and four touchdowns.
Despite missing last week's game with an ankle injury, junior linebacker Austin Magnuson has 53 tackles (22 solo) for Osage. He is expected to play this week.
Also for the Indians senior back Max Maples has 53 tackles (23 solo); Depee, a linebacker, has 51 tackles (27 solo); Dylan Riley, a linebacker, has 49 tackles (19 solo); senior linebacker C.J. Myers has 37 tackles (19 solo); senior linebacker Max Drier has 31 tackles, 12 for losses and three sacks; senior back Ian Riley has 34 tackles with four interceptions, and Edwards, a linebacker, has three interceptions, returning two for touchdowns.
"We're 6-0, so it's hard to be too upset with anything," Johnson said. "The big thing is to show improvement every week. Our kids have been resilient and tough every single play."
Blair Oaks hosts Osage
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