BOONVILLE - Jake Closser may have finished with four touchdowns Friday night, but before all those scores, there was a game-changing play that turned the course of the contest for the Blair Oaks Falcons.
Trailing 14-12 to the Boonville Pirates in a battle of Class 3 state-ranked opponents, Blair Oaks opened the second quarter facing third-and-12 from its own 36-yard line. Quarterback Dylan Hair took the snap and rolled out to his left, until there was no room left, and he threw the ball out of bounds for an incomplete pass.
Boonville ended the first quarter with back-to-back touchdowns, first on a kickoff return and the next on a deep pass. And with fourth down coming up, Blair Oaks was about to punt the ball back to the Pirates.
One problem. Following Hair's incomplete pass, there was a yellow flag on the turf.
Personal foul, roughing the passer, 15-yard penalty, first down.
The possession continued for the Falcons, and Closser caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Hair to cap the 10-play, 62-yard drive.
"They had been taking some shots at the quarterback," Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said after the Falcons' 38-21 win against Boonville. "I was a little animated tonight with the officials. They were coming from the box and they were just hitting him, and it was pretty evident.
"But the nice thing was Dylan responded, and you can't let that stuff get to you."
Hair completed two third-down passes later In the drive, and he finished it with his first of two touchdown throws to Closser. Blair Oaks responded to its first deficit of the season by regaining the lead and never relinquishing it.
Closser had a lot to do with that.
Two plays after his touchdown grab, he intercepted a pass from Boonville quarterback Nick Ferrari and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
Rather than cut off the Boonville receiver, Closser made a move to the outside and picked off the pass, with nobody between him and the end zone.
"He ran an out route and with our coverage there, I had the outside," Closser said. "I just played it over the top, picked it off and scored."
It wouldn't be the last offensive-defensive touchdown combo for Closser.
In the fourth quarter, with Blair Oaks clinging to a 25-21 lead, Closser made another touchdown reception on third down, this time grabbing a 22-yard pass over the middle just inside the end zone.
Hair finished 14-of-23 passing and a career-high 216 yards in his third career varsity start.
"He's getting better every day," Closser said.
On the ensuing Boonville drive, a Pirate receiver on the left side ran a post route, but Ferrari launched a deep pass for a flag route. Closser was able to camp under the ball and make his third interception of the season, accounting for all of the Falcons' takeaways through three games.
Closser admitted the interception was the easiest he has ever made. The return, however, was much more difficult.
"I was running down the sideline and I saw everyone coming down to my side," Closser said. "I cut back, everyone ran that way, so I cut the other way. It opened up and I had blockers."
His second pick-six extended Blair Oaks' lead to 38-21 with 9:48 to play.
After a Boonville punt, Blair Oaks was able to hold onto the ball for the final 8:34 of the game. Even with the Falcons backed up to their 4-yard line, LePage put in his "Bobby Boucher" offense and ran out the clock.
Cade Stockman rushed for 70 yards on that possession as backup quarterback, while Riley Lentz rushed for 14 of his game-high 83 yards.
"We put all the big boys in there, and we're just going to feed Cade and Riley and let those two big cats run," LePage said. "I thought that was tremendous from our offensive line for a seven-minute drive, just pounding the rock. My kind of football, I just loved that right there."
For the second straight game, Blair Oaks allowed three touchdowns in the first half. And for the second straight game, the Blair Oaks coaching staff met as a group at the start of halftime before addressing the players.
And for the second straight game, the Falcons' defense responded by not allowing any points in the second half.
"The stuff we worked on this summer, we really hadn't worked on it too much but it was something we had in our pocket," LePage said of switching to a three-man defensive front against Boonville in the second half, holding the Pirates to 43 yards passing after halftime with the remaining eight players back on coverage. "It was nice we could go back to it. All the credit goes to the players, because they're the ones who executed it."
Boonville's all-state running back, Avian Thomas, finished with just three carries for 4 yards, but he did have an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Pirates ended the game with minus-19 yards rushing.
Tramell Coleman led Boonville with six catches for 145 yards, but he only had 9 yards receiving in the second half.
"That was a cool transformation to watch, going from an attack-style defense to sitting back and playing soft coverage," LePage said.
The matchup against Class 3 No. 8 Boonville (2-1) was top-ranked Blair Oaks' second ranked opponent in three games to start the season.
"They've been tough games," Closser said. "But we've come together as a team, we faced some adversity and we played really well.
"This is a big win. That's a great team."
Blair Oaks (3-0) plays Friday at Versailles to continue Tri-County Conference play. The Tigers (0-3) dropped a 61-41 decision Friday on the road against Class 3 No. 6 Southern Boone.