WARDSVILLE - For just the second time this season, an opponent had two touchdowns by the opening minute of the second quarter against the Blair Oaks Falcons.
But keeping up with the Blair Oaks offense for 48 minutes is a tough thing to do.
The Falcons and the Indians were tied at 14 early in the second quarter, but Blair Oaks rolled off seven unanswered touchdowns Friday night to rout Osage 61-14 at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
"I think when teams play us, it makes them nervous, because they know we're going to put up points," Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said.
Blair Oaks finishes the regular season with an 8-1 record overall and a 6-0 record in the Tri-County Conference, winning its sixth straight conference title outright.
"That's really, truly a great accomplishment for the players," LePage said.
The Falcons entered the night as the No. 2 seed in Class 3 District 4. However, Centralia lost 19-14 at Palmyra, dropping Centralia from the top spot in the district.
With the help of Palmyra, Blair Oaks regained the No. 1 seed in the district, and more importantly, clinched home-field advantage throughout districts.
"Being able to play at home during the playoffs is a definite advantage," LePage said. "We couldn't control it. All we could control is what we did. Our players did what they had to do."
The first 13 minutes were a back-and-forth battle. Blair Oaks started the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Hair to Levi Haney, but Osage answered right back with an 18-yard touchdown throw from Brock McLaughlin to Hunter Graber.
Hair gave the lead back to the Falcons with a 15-yard touchdown run, but the Falcons fumbled on their next possession, and the Indians capitalized. On fourth-and-10, McLaughlin found Graber again, this time for a 22-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14 with 11:03 to go in the first quarter.
McLaughlin finished 9-of-20 passing for 144 yards and added 18 carries for 103 yards.
"I don't know if we've seen more of an elusive athlete (this season)," LePage said. "That guy's a special player."
But it was all Blair Oaks after that.
Hair outdid McLaughlin in the passing game, finishing 13-of-17 for 241 yards and five touchdowns. His second touchdown pass, a 17-yard strike across the middle to Carson Prenger with 9:50 remaining in the first half, put the Falcons ahead for good.
An Ian Nolph interception set up a 20-yard touchdown run on a pitch to Jayden Purdy. Zach Herigon made his fourth of seven extra points to double the Falcons' lead to 28-14 with 8:03 still to play in the first half.
Jake Closser added touchdown catches of 29 and 45 yards to extend the Blair Oaks lead to 41-14 by halftime.
For the second time this season, Blair Oaks opened the second half by returning the opening kick for a touchdown. This time it was Purdy, who ran it back 93 yards for his team-best 18th touchdown of the season.
The Falcons added two more touchdowns in the third quarter. Prenger caught a 12-yard pass from Hair, while Closser snagged his team-high fifth interception this season - and second of the game - returning it 36 yards for a touchdown. That made the score 61-14 with :10.5 remaining in the third quarter.
Blair Oaks forced seven Osage turnovers in the win. Prenger added an interception, while the Indians lost three fumbles in the second half, recovered by Haney, Cade Stockman and Parker Bennett.
The Blair Oaks defense forced 35 turnovers in the regular season. The Falcons enter the postseason at plus-26 in turnover margin.
Closser led the receiving corps with three catches for 97 yards, while Cobi Marble and Prenger finished with 59 and 54 yards receiving, respectively.
Hair had 11 carries for 82 yards and Purdy added six carries for 48 yards.
Osage (3-6, 2-4 Tri-County) finished with the No. 4 seed in Class 3 District 5. The Indians will host Eldon (2-5) next Friday in the first round of districts.
Blair Oaks will receive a first-round bye in District 4 and await the winner between No. 4 California and No. 5 Boonville. The Falcons would host the winner Nov. 6 in the district semifinals.