WARDSVILLE, Mo. - There has been a recurring theme the past three weeks for the opponents of the Blair Oaks Falcons.
Each team enters the game coming off a big Tri-County Conference win, only to have the Falcons dash their hopes of knocking off the conference's first-place team.
It was Southern Boone's turn Friday night. The Falcons continued their reign in the Tri-County, winning 30-7 at the Falcon Athletic Complex for their 20th straight conference victory.
For the fifth straight game, Blair Oaks scored on its first possession. Facing fourth-and-7, quarterback Cade Stockman found a wide-open Ben Thomas on the left sideline for a 33-yard touchdown, giving the Falcons a 6-0 lead.
"It certainly helps the team relax a little bit once we put points on the board," Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said. " We typically script the first six or eight plays, and we run those plays a lot throughout the course of the week. The plays are pretty much memorized."
The Falcons also accomplished something during those first eight plays it had not done all season: completing a pass to a tight end.
On the third play of the drive, Stockman found Trinity Scott across the middle for a 20-yard completion to move the ball across midfield. The catch was the first of Scott's varsity career.
Walker credited his offensive coaches for adding that wrinkle to the script of plays.
"They spend a lot of time looking at film," he said. "A lot of the things we do with our motions or with our shifts is designed because we think we know what (the defense) is going to do when we do a shift or a motion. We're trying to free up another guy in so doing. It was a nice play."
The Blair Oaks defense allowed its first touchdown during the first quarter this season Friday, then kept Southern Boone out of the end zone on its next 11 possessions.
Southern Boone scored 55 points the previous week against School of the Osage, with running back Jackson Sartain accumulating more than 100 yards rushing on his two first-quarter touchdowns alone.
The Eagles were held to 94 total yards of offense Friday, the second straight week Blair Oaks has held its opponent to less than 100 yards.
One reason for that was Blair Oaks' pressure of Southern Boone quarterback Sam Sitchnote, who was sacked six times. Justin Cobb, Bryant Gipe, Hayden Irvin, Rylee Niekamp and Jared Lootens each had at least one sack for the Falcons.
"I was really pleased to see the level of pressure we got on the quarterback," Walker said. "That's something in our tenure here we had struggled to do. The kids did a great job of that this evening. It wasn't just one guy getting pressure, it was multiple guys."
Southern Boone also had four bad snaps, including one that sailed through the back of the end zone on the first play of the second quarter, giving Blair Oaks an 8-7 lead.
Walker noted field position kept Southern Boone at a disadvantage for much of the game.
"There is some risk when you're operating deep in your own territory," he said. "Snaps get a little bit harder, catches get a little bit harder, handoffs get a little bit harder.
"We've been in the shadow of our end zone a couple different times this year. Fortunately for us, our kids have been able to execute in that situation. Unfortunately for them, we got a lucky break in that they had a bad snap and we were able to get two points out of it."
Turnover differential didn't seem to affect Blair Oaks either. The Falcons suffered a season-high five turnovers, none of which turned into Southern Boone points.
"That's what I really liked most about our effort this evening, how we responded in a sudden-change environment," Walker said.
Blair Oaks picked off Stichnote three times - twice by Thomas, once by Drew Boessen - with two of the picks turning into touchdowns. Thomas' second interception turned into a 1-yard touchdown run by Riley Lentz early in the fourth quarter, while Boessen's 43-yard interception return led a 12-yard touchdown pass from Stockman to Ethan Luebbering, making the score 30-7 with 4:46 left in the game.
"We were more advantageous when it came to attacking the football," Walker said.
Stockman improved to 3-0 as Blair Oaks' starting quarterback, finishing 18-of-28 passing for 157 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. This season, the freshman has completed 51.5 percent of his passes for 640 yards.
"Two years ago, he was playing offensive line on our Junior Falcon football program," Walker said of Stockman. "For him to do what he's done, he's done a great job."
Lentz recorded his third 100-yard rushing game of the season, finishing with 26 carries for 128 yards, gaining 101 yards after halftime.
"They were challenging us to run the football, so we ran the football," Walker said.
Blair Oaks (6-0, 4-0 Tri-County) plays yet another team next Friday that is coming off a Tri-County win. School of the Osage (4-2, 3-1 Tri-County) won 48-8 on Friday at Versailles.