WARDSVILLE, Mo. - Saturday's Class 3 quarterfinal game began as Blair Oaks football games often have started in the past. The Falcons delivered the first blow and scored on their opening possession, taking an early lead.
In those previous games, Blair Oaks would pile on the points and run away with a victory. Cassville, however, changed the script this time around.
The Wildcats scored on all three of their possessions in the first half and had command of the lead the rest of the game. Cassville snapped Blair Oaks' 27-game winning streak - the longest active winning streak in Missouri - with a 35-28 victory at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
The Wildcats ran for 355 yards Saturday, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. Entering the game, the Blair Oaks defense had held opponents to 71.7 yards rushing per game and 2.1 yards per carry.
"They did a great job at the point of attack," Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said of Cassville. "We had guys at the point of attack, and sometimes we were just getting drug for tackles.
"We've got a very physical football team, so it goes to show how physical they are."
Blair Oaks (12-1) received the ball to start the game. After the first of four touchbacks by Cassville kicker Drake Reese, the Falcons started on their own 20-yard line.
Cobi Marble took a jet sweep to the left for 43 yards. On the next play, Dylan Hair found Jake Closser down the middle of the field for a 37-yard touchdown pass. Zach Herigon's first of four extra points put Blair Oaks ahead 7-0 just 28 seconds into the game.
"We felt like the first two plays were going to be big plays for us," LePage said.
Blair Oaks gained just 65 yards the rest of the first half, as Cassville took control of the football for the rest of the half. The Wildcats held possession of the ball for 17:52 of the game's first 24 minutes.
Cassville responded to Blair Oaks' touchdown with a nine-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Zach Coenen. Reese made the extra point to tie the game at 7 with 7:08 left in the first quarter.
The Falcons moved the chains three times on their next possession, but they were forced to punt from the Cassville 45-yard line. The Wildcats then ran the ball on 12 consecutive plays, finishing with a 12-yard touchdown run by Bowen Preddy.
That made the score 13-7 with 9:34 left in the second quarter, and it gave the Falcons their first deficit since Sept. 13 at Boonville.
Preddy finished the game with 23 carries for 219 yards, while Coenen added 19 carries for 120 yards for the Wildcats.
"(Coenen) is just a hard-nosed runner up the middle," LePage said. "He was able to get us to where we had to gang-tackle him, and when you turn around and gang-tackle him, they're able to get Preddy on the outside."
Cassville scored again after a Blair Oaks punt. Deven Bates crossed the goal line on a 2-yard quarterback keeper to finish off a 13-play, 81-yard drive with :21.8 to play in the second quarter. The Wildcats went into halftime with a 20-7 lead.
Cassville was 5-of-5 on third down in the first half, including a 35-yard pass from Bates to DJ White on third-and-8 that led to the touchdown right before halftime.
"Their size and their power proved better today," LePage said. " I think our kids played hard, it just took two or three guys to tackle one guy."
Cassville received the ball to start the second half, and Preddy returned it 82 yards for a touchdown to make the score 27-7. Those were the only third-quarter points the Falcons allowed all season.
"That was disappointing to me," LePage said. "We're so good on that unit, and we kicked two out of bounds today and they also returned one for a touchdown. In games like this, you can't lose in the kicking game."
Facing their largest deficit of the season, Blair Oaks responded with back-to-back scoring drives. Hair scored on a 10-yard run to finish a seven-play, 80-yard drive, making the score 27-14.
Cassville had the game's lone three-and-out on its ensuing possession, leading to its only punt of the game. Hair then added another touchdown run of 9 yards to put Blair Oaks within six points of the lead at 27-21 with 5:02 to go in the third quarter.
"When they stopped our jet sweep package, we ran inside," LePage said. "We had a lot of success going inside."
Closser hauled in a one-handed interception - the only takeaway of the game for either team - at the Blair Oaks 33-yard line. The Falcons drove the ball down to the Cassville 25-yard line late in the third quarter, but a holding penalty and a loss of 9 yards on a fumbled snap halted a potential go-ahead drive for the Falcons, who punted with 11:13 to play in the game.
"You can call holding on a lot of different angles, and it just happened to be on that particular play at that particular time," LePage said. "We had the momentum and instead of second-and-2, we had first-and-18."
Cassville scored on a 60-yard pitch to Preddy on third-and-4, extending the Cassville lead to 35-21 after a successful 2-point conversion.
Sam Luebbering followed with a 72-yard return on the ensuing kickoff, and five plays later Hair scored on a 2-yard run to make the score 35-28 with 4:04 to play.
The Falcons never got the ball back, as the Wildcats had four first downs on the next series and ran out the clock.
Cassville finished with 397 yards of offense, compared to 333 yards for the Falcons.
Hair was 10-of-16 passing for 130 yards and a touchdown. Carson Prenger was his top receiver with five catches for 69 yards.
Riley Lentz had a team-high 86 yards rushing on 13 attempts, finishing with his second straight 900-yard rushing season and more than 2,600 yards rushing for his career. Hair added 11 carries for 65 yards, ending the season with more than 800 yards rushing and 2,400 yards passing.
"I hugged every kid when they walked in (after the game) and I told them since Day 1, if they play hard, win or lose, I still love them," LePage said after Blair Oaks suffered its first loss since Nov. 18, 2017. "I'm so proud of them."
Cassville (11-2), ranked No. 10 in Class 3, will host fourth-ranked Trinity Catholic (9-3) next Saturday in the Class 3 semifinals. Trinity Catholic defeated Lutheran: St. Charles 26-0 on Saturday at St. Louis University High.
The other Class 3 semifinal game next Saturday will be top-ranked Odessa (13-0) at fifth-ranked Kennett (13-0). Odessa won a 53-31 shootout against Savannah in Saturday's quarterfinal action, while Kennett topped Roosevelt 50-14.