WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The Blair Oaks Falcons made sure they won the turnover battle against the California Pintos, something they had only accomplished twice in their first seven games.
Blair Oaks forced six turnovers - three fumble recoveries, three interceptions - that led to 38 points Friday night. The Falcons clinched at least a share of the Tri-County Conference championship, routing the Pintos 44-6 on Senior Night at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
"It was really nice to get the turnovers," Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said. "We had been behind the eight ball when it came to turnover margin all year long, so it was really nice to see us get some turnovers."
California's first turnover, a interception snagged by Drew Boessen, led to a 35-yard touchdown pass from Cade Stockman to Ethan Luebbering. That score gave Blair Oaks a 6-0 lead with 6:11 left in the first quarter.
The Pintos fumbled on their next possession, but California's Bryant Davis responded by picking off a pass from Stockman and returning it 68 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 6 with 4:32 left in the opening quarter.
It was the first defensive score the Falcons had allowed all season, but Friday was also the first time this year Blair Oaks' defense held its opponent scoreless.
Ben Thomas caught his team-high eighth touchdown pass on Blair Oaks' next drive to make the score 12-6. Those were the Falcons' only points that didn't come off a turnover Friday.
Blair Oaks then responded with its first defensive touchdown this season. Marcus Edler picked off a throw from Davis and returned it 20 yards for a score midway through the second quarter. Luebbering caught the 2-point conversion to give the Falcons a 20-6 lead.
"The pick-six was certainly nice," Walker said.
Riley Lentz had his first of three rushing touchdowns in the game late in the second quarter. Lentz scored on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal, and Braydan Pritchett caught the 2-point pass to extend the lead to 28-6 with 2:45 left in the half.
Blair Oaks linebacker Bryce Kempker, who had a fumble recovery in the second quarter, recorded an interception on the opening drive of the second half. Five plays later, Lentz scored on a 3-yard run, then added the 2-point run to push the lead to 36-6.
Blair Oaks triggered the running clock about a minute later. Kempker recovered another fumble, his third takeaway of the game, and Lentz scored on a 1-yard run to give the Falcons a 44-6 lead after Luebbering caught another 2-point pass with 5:11 to play in the third quarter.
California had just four first downs in the game and was held to 116 yards of total offense, all rushing. Cory Friedmeyer led the Pintos with 13 carries for 88 yards.
Stockman, who surpassed 1,000 yards passing for the season Friday, completed 13-of-21 passes for 191 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Thomas had four catches for 83 yards and Luebbering caught two passes for 69 yards.
Blair Oaks tallied 108 yards on the ground to finish with 299 yards of total offense. Thomas had a team-high 32 yards rushing on three carries, while Lentz had 14 rushes for 29 yards.
California falls to 1-7 with the loss, its fifth straight defeat.
Blair Oaks (8-0, 6-0 Tri-County) will play at Warsaw (4-4, 2-4) next Friday with a chance to wrap up a third straight regular season with a perfect record. The Wildcats lost 47-12 on Friday at Southern Boone.
"The last couple weeks, our message has been pretty simple," Walker said. "If you're going to be a championship team, whether it's Tri-County Conference championship or district championship and beyond, this is the time of year where the good teams put their foot on the gas and they don't let off the accelerator."