WARDSVILLE - The Blair Oaks defense is building momentum as the 2019 regular season winds down.
First, teams couldn't run on the Falcons. Now, teams aren't even scoring on them.
Blair Oaks recorded its second straight shutout Friday night, picking up a 40-0 Homecoming win against the Southern Boone Eagles at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
"The coaches make a good matchup for us," Blair Oaks senior linebacker Kamron Morriss said. "We know their plays, we know what they're going to do. We just have to do what we do."
The Blair Oaks first-string defense has gone 18 straight quarters - or roughly a month - without allowing any points. The last time the Falcons' defensive starters gave up points came in the second quarter of Week 3's game Sept. 13 at Boonville, when Tramell Coleman caught a 47-yard pass for a score with 4:56 left in the quarter.
"We're feeling pretty good, but we just have to stay confident and not get too cocky about it," Blair Oaks junior defensive end Carson Bax said.
Southern Boone entered Friday's game averaging 226.7 yards rushing per game, while the Blair Oaks defense allowed an average of 61.5 rushing yards.
Not only did the Eagles fall well short of their average, but the Falcons also improved their rush defense with 26 carries for a net gain of 1 yard. Tristan John, who averaged 11.5 yards per carry before the game, finished with just 11 carries for 27 yards.
"We've been coached up to just make our reads," Bax said. "We just do our responsibility."
Blair Oaks brought pressure into the Southern Boone backfield from different angles in its 3-4 defense, as the linebackers were constantly keyed on John and quarterback Tyson Smith.
"Sometimes we brought up four (linebackers), sometimes we brought two, sometimes we brought one," Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said.
Southern Boone finished the game with 15 plays for a loss.
"It was impressive," LePage said. "Nobody has really stymied them. Our players, each week they seem to take the challenge of what's in front of them.
"You've got to make plays, and they're making great tackles at the point of attack. You didn't really see any broken tackles tonight."
After a botched punt attempt on their first possession, the Eagles punted on their next four possessions without recording a first down. A short pass on third down near midfield with about 3 minutes left in the first half allowed Southern Boone to move the chains for the first time all game.
"Their offense seemed to be a clicking machine," LePage said. "I was really anxious to go in and see how we could match up with them."
The defense's impressive play also made for an easier night for the Blair Oaks offense. The Falcons started eight of their 11 drives beyond their own 40-yard line, and two scoring drives started inside the Southern Boone 20-yard line.
"We'll take that every night," LePage said. "I know for the players and coaches, stats are key. But the biggest stat is when you're scoring touchdowns and they're not. The defense set the offense up, the offense was able to take advantage of it."
As a result of the favorable field position, the Falcons only needed 302 yards of offense to produce the 40 points. Riley Lentz led the way with 99 yards rushing and three touchdowns, and the senior is now less than 200 yards from surpassing 2,500 yards rushing in his career.
"Riley had a big night," LePage said. " Tonight, he showed that he's able to run over you or run around you."
Southern Boone held Jake Closser without a reception for the first time this season, but the Blair Oaks junior picked up his team-high fourth interception on defense.
With Closser drawing plenty of attention from the Southern Boone secondary, Carson Prenger led the Falcons' receivers with six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Reid Dudenhoeffer also had four catches for 49 yards and Cobi Marble's only catch of 15 yards went for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
"We have four really good receivers in there," LePage said. "And if we go empty (backfield) and put Riley out there, Riley is as good as any receiver we've got.
"You can spread the field with five guys throwing the ball, but we still want to be able to run it."
Southern Boone (5-2), ranked No. 8 in Class 3 in last week's Missouri Media Rankings, plays Friday at California before wrapping up the regular season at home against seventh-ranked Boonville.
Blair Oaks (7-0), the top-ranked team in Class 3, will play its final road game of the regular season Friday at School of the Osage (2-5). The Indians lost 34-13 on Friday at Versailles, creating a three-way tie for last place in the Tri-County Conference.
With wins against Osage and then at home against California (1-6) in the regular-season finale, the Falcons would post a 7-0 record for the fifth straight season in the Tri-County.
"If we want to go anywhere, we've got to get better every day," LePage said.