Falcons dominate Indians to take Tri-County Conference lead

HALLSVILLE - The Dylan Hair-to-Jake Closser connection couldn't be stopped Friday night.

Hair completed 12-of-19 passes for a career-high 390 yards, while Closser was on the receiving end of seven of those passes for a Blair Oaks single-game record of 337 yards.

The Falcons' defense also recorded its first shutout of the season, blanking the Hallsville Indians 35-0 to take sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Conference.

"Our week of practice was outstanding," Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said. "I felt like our players are really growing together. This team's a lot of fun, and I felt like we were poised to have a good game. "I didn't know we would play as well as we did. We really played a good football game."

Blair Oaks punted on its first possession of the game, but Hair began his aerial assault on its next possession, connecting downfield with Closser for a 63-yard touchdown. Zach Herigon added his first of five extra points to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead with 2:54 to play in the first quarter.

The Falcons were turned over on downs near the red zone on their next possession early in the second quarter, but they would still score twice more before halftime.

Hair threw a swing pass to Closser, who tiptoed the Indians' sideline near the Hallsville 40-yard line and raced into the end zone for a 50-yard catch-and-run touchdown. That doubled the Blair Oaks lead to 14-0 with 6:27 left in the first half.

Facing third-and-13 inside its 20-yard line on its next possession, Blair Oaks went back to the air. Hair launched another downfield pass to Closser, who beat his man down the center of the field and got into the end zone for an 82-yard score. That gave the Falcons a 21-0 advantage with 2:40 to go in the first half.

"We saw a matchup that we liked," LePage said. "Jake can really run, but what people underestimate about Jake Closser is his speed. He is so flippin' fast."

Closser finished the first half with 208 yards receiving, needing just 33 more to break the record of 240 yards set last season by Ben Thomas in the Class 2 semifinals against Lutheran North. Closser's last two catches in the second half didn't get him into the end zone, but they shattered the record and set up a pair of Blair Oaks touchdowns.

Closser's 55-yard catch to break Thomas' record set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Sam Luebbering three plays later. That extended the lead to 28-0 with 6:07 to play in the third quarter.

Then, a 74-yard pass to Closser was followed by a 10-yard swing pass from Hair to Cade Stockman for a touchdown. Blair Oaks went ahead 35-0, triggering the running clock with 2:05 left in the third.

Hallsville had its chances to score in the second half, getting into Blair Oaks territory three times after halftime. But every one of the Indians' second-half possessions ended in a turnover.

Carson Prenger intercepted a pass at the Blair Oaks' 17-yard line, then he recovered a fumbled pitch at the Falcons' 16 on the Indians' next drive.

"We had some crucial turnovers there in the third quarter that we forced," LePage said. "We had not gotten a fumble recovery all year, and we forced a fumble and got a fumble recovery. I'm going to give an award to everyone on the defense for that one."

In the fourth quarter, Cobi Marble intercepted a pass from Hallsville's Jake Ashburn at the Blair Oaks 27, then Luebbering recovered a fumble by Ashburn with 6:33 left on Hallsville's final offensive play.

"Where I have to tip my hat off to our defense is that's 14 straight quarters that our first-team defense hasn't given up a score," LePage said. "We've given up a score off an offensive turnover against Versailles, and we gave up a score with our second unit against Eldon.

"Our defense is really rising up."

Blair Oaks finished with 434 yards of offense and held Hallsville (4-2) to 174 yards. Mason Huskey had 12 carries for 61 yards, while Cooper Crane had 45 yards on 12 rushes for the Indians. Ashburn was 7-of-15 passing for 42 yards and two interceptions.

Blair Oaks (6-0), ranked No. 1 in Class 3, hosts Southern Boone for Homecoming next Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at the Falcon Athletic Complex.

Southern Boone (5-1), ranked No. 8 in Class 3, bounced back from its first loss with a 40-21 win Friday at home against School of the Osage.