WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The result was expected, and it came in a flash.
The Blair Oaks Falcons scored five times in the first quarter and recorded their first shutout of the season, beating the Missouri Military Academy Colonels 52-0 in the Class 3 District 6 first-round matchup Friday night at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
"The kids were focused, and we had a good week of practice," Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said. "They came out and played in the manner in which we expected them to do in order to take care of business and move on."
Blair Oaks scored on each of its first seven possessions.
Braydan Pritchett scored four times in the first quarter, opening the scoring onslaught with a 21-yard catch from quarterback Nolan Hair on Blair Oaks' second offensive play of the game. Ethan Luebbering caught the first of his three 2-point conversion passes to give the Falcons an 8-0 lead just 1:12 into the game.
Luebbering followed with a 5-yard touchdown grab on the next possession, while Pritchett ran in the 2-point try to stretch the lead to 16-0.
Pritchett then scored the Falcons' next three touchdowns on runs of 30, 6 and 8 yards. The Blair Oaks junior posted touchdowns on four of the six times he touched the ball, finishing with five carries for 70 yards. The touchdown catch was his only reception of the game.
"We'll continue to use him both ways, in the backfield and split out as a wideout," Walker said of Pritchett, who led the Falcons in rushing for the second time this season. "We're just trying to get guys in the right spots at this point and time of the year in order to give ourselves a chance to be successful."
Pritchett's last touchdown gave the Falcons a 36-0 lead with 1:08 to play in the first quarter.
A pair of interceptions led to both Blair Oaks touchdowns in the second quarter.
Following a pick by Marcus Edler, Hair connected with Luebbering for a 35-yard touchdown pass in the opening minute of the second quarter to make the score 44-0.
Ben Thomas snagged his team-high seventh interception of the season on MMA's next offensive play. Four plays later, Kamron Morriss found the end zone on a 6-yard run with 8:12 to go in the second quarter to push the Falcons past the 50-point mark for the third time in the past four weeks.
At halftime, both coaches agreed to shorten each quarter in the second half to eight minutes with a running clock.
Blair Oaks had two drives in the second half, one that ended with its only punt of the game and the other resulting in a turnover on downs inches from the goal line.
Hair was 5-of-6 passing for 83 yards and three touchdowns. He came out of the game early in the second quarter and also had a 27-yard run.
The Falcons had nine different ball carriers in the game. Riley Lentz had 31 yards rushing on four attempts, while Seth DeWesplore and Jayden Purdy added 25 and 22 yards rushing, respectively.
Luebbering was the team's leading receiver, finishing with 40 yards total on his two touchdown grabs.
MMA (1-9) did not complete a pass and finished the game with minus-58 yards rushing. The Colonels only had four plays in the game that went for positive yardage.
The Falcons finished with four takeaways, with Bryce Kempker and Brandon Sharp each recovering a fumble in the first quarter.
Blair Oaks (10-0) will host Wright City (6-4) in the district semifinals at 7 p.m. next Friday. The Wildcats, the No. 4 seed in the district, defeated fifth-seeded Winfield 44-35 on Friday.