If you thought Ted LePage’s hall of fame season was going to end anywhere but Faurot Field, then you weren’t paying attention to the Blair Oaks Falcons this fall.
Or the previous five seasons, for that matter.
Blair Oaks continued its even-yeared dominance Saturday afternoon, as the Falcons won 66-48 in a shootout against Bowling Green, a matchup featuring the top-two scoring offenses in Class 2.
Since LePage returned as Blair Oaks football head coach, the Falcons already have two state titles under their belt, finishing first in 2018 and 2020 (Ah, now the “even-yeared dominance” reference makes sense).
It’s easy to point at superstition and suggest perhaps the Falcons are a team of destiny again in 2022. But I would say it has more to do with redemption, using the previous year’s postseason loss as a motivating factor for the next 12 months.
• In the 2017 state semifinals, Blair Oaks gave up 452 yards rushing in a 49-20 loss to Maryville. The Falcons responded with perhaps the best defensive season I’ve ever seen in 2018, holding opponents to 8.5 points per game and winning every game but one in a rout.
• In the 2019 state quarterfinals, Cassville beat Blair Oaks 35-28. During the ensuing offseason, that final score appeared on a white board in the Falcons’ weight room, and that pushed Blair Oaks to win another state title the following season, all amid COVID-19 concerns.
• In the 2021 district championship game, Dylan Hair and Alec Wieberg suffered injuries that took a toll on the team, resulting in a 49-14 loss to Mexico. Once again, that defeat became the talking point all offseason. And once again, the Falcons have found themselves playing for another state title the following season.
This all could be coincidence. This all could be destiny.
All I know is it has been fun football to watch, and Saturday was no different.
A crowd of 1,762 people packed the stands and circled the all-weather track in Bowling Green. And for a time, I thought I was watching a track meet instead of a football game.
Not even 15 minutes into the game, Bowling Green led Blair Oaks 32-28. I didn’t know which would slow me down first: cramps in my left hand from jotting down statistics profusely as I kept up with the play-by-play, or cramps in my unconditioned legs from moving too quickly along the sideline as I tried to stay on top of the action.
There was so much action in the game, which makes sense. After all, the two teams had combined to score 1,467 points this season entering Saturday.
With Hair at quarterback for Blair Oaks and Bowling Green running back Marcus Starks on the field, you just had a sense there was the potential for someone to score on every single play.
Both players carried the football 27 times. Hair rushed for 272 yards -- surprisingly, only his third-highest rushing total of the season -- and Starks gained 141 yards on the ground.
Hair also threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns. By the way, if you haven’t seen him play in any of his previous 52 high school games, Friday will be your last chance before he moves on to the collegiate level next season.
This week’s state championship game adds another flavor of redemption for Blair Oaks. The Falcons’ opponent, the Lamar Tigers, beat Blair Oaks 69-41 for the state title in 2012, the highest-scoring state championship game in Missouri high school football history.
Lamar scored 56 points Saturday in its semifinal win against Seneca, so perhaps another shootout is in store later this week.
I’m not saying Blair Oaks is going to complete its redemption tour with a win against Lamar. It’s entirely possible the Tigers come away with a victory.
But it would be off-putting to see the Falcons’ storybook season end that way.
And with LePage heading off to the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in two weeks, a win would make that induction ceremony much more enjoyable.