WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The first play from scrimmage was a sign of things to come.
Good news for Maryville, bad news for Blair Oaks.
Maryville running back Eli Dowis scored on a 68-yard touchdown run just 20 seconds into Saturday's Class 3 state semifinal game at the Falcon Athletic Complex. The Spoofhounds would add six more unanswered touchdowns and beat the Falcons 49-20.
Blair Oaks ends the season with a 13-1 record.
"We had no answer for them," Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said. "We'll have to go back to the drawing board on that. You have to credit them for how they chose to start the game, and we didn't respond real well. The game kind of speaks for itself."
Blair Oaks' defense allowed an average of 74 yards rushing per game prior to Saturday's semifinal contest. Maryville finished with 61 carries for 452 yards, averaging 7.4 yards per rush.
Dowis had 123 yards on only five carries.
"They ran through a lot of our arm-tackles," Walker said. " They were more physical than we were. We knew that's what they were going to try to do, and at the end of the day, their physicality whipped us."
The Spoofhounds scored on each of their first five possessions to lead 36-0 with 7:20 to play in the second quarter.
Tyler Houchin, who had a game-high 139 yards rushing on 20 carries, had an 8-yard touchdown run on Maryville's next possession. Mark Zahnd followed with a 10-yard score to extend the lead to 22-0 with 2:38 to play in the opening quarter.
With a light drizzle and a strong wind blowing from the north during the first half, Blair Oaks turned to its run game early. The Falcons finished with just 32 yards rushing and, after falling behind by double digits less than four minutes in, had to turn to the passing game in less than ideal weather conditions.
"It certainly impacted some throws," Walker said of the weather. "But we're not going to use it as an excuse. You have to give Maryville credit for how they prepared and how they came out and played. They just took it to us."
Houchin and Zahnd added their second touchdown runs in the second quarter. Houchin scored from 4 yards out, while Zahnd had a 31-yard touchdown run following a Blair Oaks interception, one of three Falcon turnovers in the game.
Blair Oaks forced a three-and-out on Maryville's next possession, but the Spoofhounds were able to get one more score before halftime. Jacob Reuter, who finished with 89 yards rushing, found the end zone from 2 yards out with :24.3 on the clock to give Maryville a 42-0 halftime lead.
"There really is no halftime adjustment for 42-0," Walker said.
Maryville took advantage of another Blair Oaks turnover to start the second half. Houchin found the end zone for a third time on a 4-yard run with 10:03 left in the third quarter to lead 49-0.
At that point, Blair Oaks had 106 yards of offense. The Falcons would gain 70 yards on their next three plays.
Quarterback Nolan Hair connected on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ben Thomas to cap the drive with 8:00 on the clock. Hair added the 2-point conversion to make the score 49-8.
The running clock in the second half stunted some of Blair Oaks' offensive momentum, as Maryville was able to run nine plays spanning nearly seven minutes on its ensuing possession.
"With the running clock, time's going to get away from you," Walker said.
Hair threw his third interception of the game on the final play of the third quarter, but the Blair Oaks junior finished strong with two touchdown passes on the Falcons' final two possessions.
Thomas made a one-handed grab for a 22-yard reception, then hauled in a wide-open 58-yard strike down the middle of the field from Hair with 7:03 left in the game. The 2-point conversion failed, so the running clock continued with the score at 49-14.
Thomas had his biggest performance of the season, catching nine passes - three for touchdowns - for a career-high 212 yards, one shy of C.J. Closser's single-game record set in 2015.
But Thomas would still break a school record Saturday.
On Blair Oaks' final offensive play of the game, Hair threw toward the left sideline to Thomas, who hauled in the pass and darted into the end zone for a 45-yard score with :45.0 left. It was Thomas' 19th touchdown catch of the season, breaking the school record of 18 set by Haydn Lock in 2013.
"Ben's had a great year," Walker said.
Hair was 15-of-27 for 278 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. The junior finished with 2,512 yards passing, despite missing five games due to injury.
Ethan Luebbering also had a fumble recovery for the Falcons' only takeaway, which led to the team's second touchdown.
"I liked the way the kids finished," Walker said. " Unfortunately, you don't get six quarters. You only get four."
Maryville (12-2) will advance to play in the Class 3 state championship game next Saturday against Mount Vernon (10-4) at Faurot Field in Columbia. The Mountaineers won 16-0 against Lutheran South in Saturday's other semifinal contest.
Blair Oaks will get a rematch against Maryville in the 2018 season opener. Time, date and location are still to be determined.
"We're very proud of the kids," Walker said. "The kids worked incredibly hard. I hate for it to end like this for them."