WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The Blair Oaks Falcons made big plays when they needed them against the Southern Boone Eagles.
Blair Oaks scored two touchdowns on fourth down, while the defense accounted for three interceptions Friday night. The Falcons remained unbeaten with a 30-7 Homecoming win at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
"The kids played hard, and we always tell them that if you play hard, good things generally happen," Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said. "That was what happened tonight."
For the fifth straight game, Blair Oaks scored on its first possession. The Falcons capped an 8-play, 80-yard drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Cade Stockman to a wide-open Ben Thomas on fourth down to give Blair Oaks a 6-0 lead with 6:49 left in the first quarter.
"We're going to be aggressive," Walker said of the fourth-down call. " That play was something we worked on throughout the course of the week, and the kids went out and executed it."
Southern Boone answered on the ensuing possession. Ross Trittler hauled in a 30-yard pass from Sam Stichnote to move into Blair Oaks territory. On the next play, Tristan John ran up the middle untouched for a 21-yard score. Parker Boyce added the extra points to give the Eagles a 7-6 lead with 4:11 remaining in the opening quarter.
It was just the second time Blair Oaks had trailed all season, and the Falcons wouldn't trail for long.
On the first play of the second quarter, a high snap sailed over Stichnote's reach and through the back of the end zone for a safety, giving Blair Oaks an 8-7 lead.
The Falcons added to the lead midway through the quarter, finishing a nine-play drive with a 2-yard screen pass from Stockman to Braydan Pritchett. Marcus Edler caught the pass for the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 16-7, which would be the halftime score.
The two teams combined for seven turnovers in the second half. Blair Oaks turned the ball over five times with three lost fumbles and two interceptions, none of which would result in additional points for Southern Boone.
Thomas snagged two interceptions for the Falcons. His second pick led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Riley Lentz with 10:26 left in the game to make the score 22-7.
Drew Boessen returned Stichnote's third interception 43 yards to the Eagles' 7-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, Stockman threw his third touchdown pass of the night, finding Ethan Luebbering at the goal line for a 12-yard catch. Stockman scored the 2-point conversion to make the score 30-7.
The Blair Oaks defense held Southern Boone (3-3, 1-3 Tri-County) to 16 net yards rushing on 35 attempts. Stichnote competed 7-of-12 passes for 78 yards, giving the Eagles 94 yards of total offense, the second straight game Blair Oaks has held its opponent to less than 100 yards.
Lentz gained more than 100 yards rushing in the second half, finishing the game with 26 carries for 128 yards and the one score.
Stockman completed 18-of-28 passes for 157 yards with three touchdowns. Both of Stockman interceptions were caught by Stichnote.
Pritchett had a team-high 10 catches, finishing with 55 yards receiving. Thomas added two catches for 43 yards.
Blair Oaks (6-0, 4-0 Tri-County), ranked No. 2 in Class 3, plays next Friday at School of the Osage (4-2, 3-1 Tri-County). The Indians won 48-8 on the road Friday against Versailles.