HALLSVILLE, Mo. - Terry Walker improved to 23-0 in the regular season as Blair Oaks head coach Friday, but the Falcons' 18-6 win against the Hallsville Indians was far from their best performance during his tenure.
It marked the first time Blair Oaks failed to score 20 points under Walker in a regular season game.
"We made a few more plays than what Hallsville did," Walker said. "We showed our resilience from time to time, we showed our ability to fight defensively from time to time.
"We have to be more focused throughout an entire 48 minutes."
Neither team scored after halftime, while the Blair Oaks defense held its opponent in single digits for the 12th time in the past three seasons under Walker.
The Indians managed just 94 total yards in the contest. They had 41 yards at halftime and 43 yards through three quarters.
"The defense played really well," Walker said. "(Hallsville) did a couple things different that we had not seen them do, and I thought we adjusted well to that."
Hallsville rarely went to running back Cooper Crane until the fourth quarter, when he gained his team-high 25 rushing yards. Walker said he was a little surprised Crane had just two carries through the first three quarters.
"Watching on film, it looked like he had been their most productive runner," Walker said. "I don't know if he got dinged in the first half and they didn't want to use him offensively. That kid's going to be a good running back, he's a good player."
The Indians also completed a 33-yard pass in the fourth quarter to account for more than one-third of their offense.
Hallsville's only score came with short field position after Blair Oaks had a bad snap on a punt attempt in the second quarter. The Indians needed just three plays to move the ball 20 yards to cut the Falcons' lead to 12-6 with 3:01 to play in the half.
A second bad snap on a punt put Hallsville on the Blair Oaks 8-yard line with 2:17 to play in the game.
"I felt comfortable defensively that, unless we gave up a busted play or something, that them driving the length of the field probably wasn't going to happen," Walker said. "But then when you turn around and have a bad snap on two punts and give them short field inside the 20- or 25-yard line, if you're going to be a good team, that can't happen."
This Hallsville drive, however, ended with an interception by Ben Thomas in the end zone with about a minute to play. Thomas' pick was the only takeaway of the game for either team.
"That was a big play," Walker said. " It was nice to see us finally get a turnover."
Blair Oaks scored on its first offensive possession, a 12-play, 42-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard run by Riley Lentz on fourth-and-goal. The Falcons have scored on their opening possession in four consecutive games.
"We spend a lot of time scripting our first six or eight plays," Walker said. "We try and put the kids in position to be successful. But then once we're done with those first six plays, we come back to them.
"The disappointing thing was we didn't seem to have the same focus throughout the game offensively as what we had on that first possession. We've got to do a much better job of that."
The Falcons punted on their next possession before capping a 9-play, 70-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Cade Stockman to Braydan Pritchett early in the second quarter, extending the lead to 12-0.
After Hallsville's touchdown, Blair Oaks scored with :43 left in the half on a 16-yard pass to Ben Thomas, his fifth touchdown catch of the season.
The offense staggered in the second half, moving the chains just three times on six possessions.
Stockman accumulated minus-63 yards rushing from a combination of seven fumbled snaps and a Hallsville defense that was constantly in the Blair Oaks backfield.
"When a team is bringing pressure like that and you have a freshman quarterback, the offensive line has got to share some of the onus there," Walker said. "They've got to do some work. We work with the kids all week on recognizing stunting linebackers and learning how to pick up pressure. We just have to continue to work on it and continue to get better."
Blair Oaks (5-0) will return home Friday for its Homecoming game against Southern Boone (3-2) at the Falcon Athletic Complex. With the Eagles' 55-51 win Friday against School of the Osage, the Falcons are alone in first place in the Tri-County Conference with four games to play.
Despite the undefeated record and the No. 2 ranking in Class 3, Walker said there's plenty of room for improvement.
"We've got to do a better job all around, from the head coach on down," he said. "We have to do a better job."