WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The Blair Oaks Falcons have produced plenty of points the past three weeks. Now they'll face a team that's been doing much of the same.
The scoreboard could light up frequently when Blair Oaks hosts the Wright City Wildcats tonight in the Class 3 District 6 semifinals. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
Like last year's district semifinal against Fulton, the Falcons will face a dual-threat quarterback tonight. Wright City's Sean McDonald, a 6-foot-1, 171-pound senior, is 80 yards shy of 3,000 total yards this season.
"Their quarterback is mobile," Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said. "He can move around, he can extend plays with his feet and he continues to keep his eyes down the field. That always makes him a constant threat."
McDonald has completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,420 yards and 26 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 500 yards and another eight scores. In last Friday's 44-35 win against Winfield, McDonald threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns while adding 112 yards on the ground and two scores.
While McDonald mirrors former Fulton quarterback Devin Masek, Walker said the Falcons saw a similar style of play earlier this season against Versailles' Coby Williams."He has a big arm, he has the ability to throw the ball a long way," Walker said of McDonald. "At least a couple of their receivers are really active about attacking the football once it's in the air."
Senior Devon Holmes (6-1, 175) is McDonald's top target. Holmes has 1,303 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns, averaging 21.0 yards per catch.
"He's quick, he's fast and he does a great job of playing the ball once it's in the air," Walker said. "I don't know that I've seen him drop any passes. If he's able to touch it, he is able to catch it."
In the run game, the Wildcats have shown their diversity, with 11 players having at least one rushing attempt. Junior Jayden Mahaney (6-0, 169) leads the team with 512 yards rushing, but he did not have a single carry last week. Freshman Branden Contrares (5-6, 165) has 428 yards rushing and three scores.
"This will be a classic example of a team that tries to be fairly balanced," Walker said. "We're going to have to do a good job of controlling the running game and try to make them predictable."
Wright City's offensive line is another reason the Wildcats are averaging 427.3 yards per game. Senior tackle Robert Benoist (6-4, 331), senior guard Collin Schlapper (6-3, 280) and junior guard Donald Grueneberg (6-2, 280) present a big size differential against Blair Oaks.
"They have some big kids and they have the ability to move you," Walker said. "We are always undersized, which honestly is not a big deal. It is what it is. Our kids will play with great technique and great effort."
Defensively, Wright City is led by senior linebacker Jaime Malta (6-0, 223), who leads the team with 119 total tackles. Walker said Malta is easily the Wildcats' best defender.
"He's another kid that's very athletic," Walker said. "He's got good size, good speed, good range. He has a nose for the football and they put him in positions to make plays."
While Wright City (6-4) has been piling up the points this season, averaging 32.1 per game, the defense has struggled to hold opponents out of the end zone.
The Wildcats are allowing 29.6 points per game, and both North Callaway and South Callaway scored at least 40 points while holding Wright City in single digits during the regular season.
"The teams that were successful, both North Callaway and South Callaway, prevented big plays," Walker said. "If we're going to be successful, we're going to have to prevent big plays."
Blair Oaks (10-0) won last Friday's district opener 52-0 against Missouri Military Academy.
"The kids prepared well during the course of the week," Walker said. "They came out and got right down to business."
The Blair Oaks-Wright City winner will face either Mexico or Southern Boone in next Friday's district championship. The second-seeded Bulldogs (7-3) host the third-seeded Eagles (7-3) in Mexico.
Related media:
Blair Oaks Falcons Football Podcast [Wright City preview, Oct. 27, 2017]