ELDON, Mo. - The Blair Oaks Falcons are becoming more comfortable with their passing game, unloading an air assault Friday night against the Eldon Mustangs.
Sophomore quarterback Nolan Hair had career-highs of 286 passing yards and four touchdown passes, leading the Falcons to a 42-7 win against Eldon at Mustang Memorial Field.
"Given who we've got at quarterback and the kids we got that can catch the football, we're definitely going to throw the football," Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said. "There's just no way around that. It just makes you hard to defend."
Hair's first touchdown strike was an 18-yard pass to Braydan Pritchett. Cody Alexander added the 2-point conversion to give the Falcons an 8-0 lead with 1:08 left in the first quarter.
Pritchett had a team-high five catches for 87 yards.
Alexander returned to the lineup after missing last week's game against the Versailles Tigers. Alexander took the place of Jake Van Ronzelen, Blair Oaks' leading rusher, who was sidelined Friday night after suffering a concussion against the Tigers.
Alexander returned to form against the Mustangs, making in a fingertip catch across the middle of the field and running into the end zone for a 44-yard touchdown reception with 7:36 left in the second quarter.
Alexander led the Falcons with 10 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown. The senior running back also had four catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
"We talked to Cody all week about how he needed to step up, especially with Jake being out," Walker said.
Hair added a 1-yard touchdown run - his fifth rushing score this season - with 1:07 remaining in the first half. That gave Blair Oaks a 20-0 halftime lead.
Alexander scored his remaining two touchdowns in the third quarter. He had a 21-yard run on the Falcons' first drive of the second half and then had a 46-yard catch-and-run for another score, extending the Blair Oaks lead to 34-0.
The Falcons put the running clock into effect with 7:46 to play in the game. Hair's fourth touchdown pass was a 54-yard strike to Ben Thomas. Hair completed 15-of-28 passes and started the game with six straight completions.
Eldon (1-3) ended Blair Oaks' hope of a third shutout this season late in the fourth quarter. Trenton Dillon broke loose for a 52-yard touchdown run against the Falcons' second-string defense with 3:06 to play.
The Falcons held Eldon to 28 yards rushing and just 40 yards of total offense. Mason Gipe and Kaleb Cox each had a fumble recovery and Pritchett grabbed an interception.
Blair Oaks (4-0) will host Hallsville next Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at the Falcon Athletic Complex.