WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The Blair Oaks second-string players have seen plenty of playing time through the first two weeks of the season.
For the defense, in Friday night's game against the Knob Noster Panthers, keeping the zero on the scoreboard was a high priority.
"Our twos got me a little nervous, but they turned it around," Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said after the Falcons' 49-0 win at the Falcon Athletic Complex. "They really came on, caused some turnovers, did some good things."
The second-string defense stepped on the field with 5:50 left in the third quarter. The backups got 15 plays across two Knob Noster drives.
"We got some valuable minutes out of some players tonight that are going to have to help us later down the road," LePage said.
On the first drive, the Panthers started on their own 17-yard line and worked the ball to the Blair Oaks 21. The Falcons stepped up and stalled the drive, as Devonte Sanders forced a fumble against quarterback Iverson Sirom that was recovered by Reid Dudenhoeffer.
"I was really pleased with the effort of our twos on attacking the football," LePage said. "They were moving the football, their first unit was still in, and they never gave up, they kept rallying."
Knob Noster got the ball back in the fourth quarter, this time on its 27, and worked its way into the red zone to the Blair Oaks 12-yard line. But the Falcons took advantage on a fumbled snap on third down, and Ethan Toebben recovered the loose ball with 5:20 to play in the game.
The turnovers didn't stop there for Knob Noster. The Panthers looked as if they would get the ball back with less than two minutes to play, but fair-catch attempt on a punt was dropped and recovered by Holden Brand.
The Blair Oaks offense was able to run the clock out with three more plays.
"Those guys work all week in practice, and they got out there and played meaningful minutes," LePage said. "We want to play as many kids as we possibly can, because we want our program to win this year, next year and the year after."
Sirom finished with 86 yards on 15 carries, but he was kept out of the end zone after scoring four touchdowns in Week 1 against Versailles.
"He's a joystick, he was fun to watch," LePage said. "He made us better tonight, and he's going to make us better when we go watch film."
The first-stringers made sure the game was out of reach by halftime.
Knob Noster (1-1) was able to force a turnover on downs on Blair Oaks' first possession of the game.
"Defensively, they did some things we knew they were going to have the ability to do, just because of their talent level," LePage said. "They were a very physical football team. That was a good football team."
The Falcons responded by scoring touchdowns on their next seven possessions: one in the first quarter, five in the second quarter and one more in the third.
Through two games, the Blair Oaks first-string offense has scored touchdowns on 15 of its 16 possessions. On Friday, that included producing 385 yards on 31 plays before giving way to the backups.
"I just want to see us finish drives and have 4 yards per play," LePage said. "If we get 4 yards a play, we win football games."
Dylan Hair completed 12-of-20 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Carson Prenger was on the receiving end of six of those completions for 104 yards and a score.
"This is a selfless game when it comes to receivers," LePage said. "There's going to be a night where you're called on, and you have to be the guy."
Jayden Purdy passed the century mark in rushing yards for the second straight week, gaining 105 yards on just six carries with two touchdowns. He's the first Blair Oaks player with back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances since Riley Lentz did in Weeks 3 and 4 of the 2017 season.
"What Jayden possesses is something that you can't teach," LePage said. "It's his explosiveness through the line of scrimmage and his speed into the second level. People don't realize it until he's in the second level."
Blair Oaks' defense forced two more turnovers in the first half. Alec Wieberg had an interception and Gavin Wekenborg recovered a fumble.
"Last year, we were at Week 6 with eight turnovers," LePage said. "Through the first two games, we have eight turnovers and we're plus-7 in turnover margin."
Due to coronavirus concerns, Blair Oaks moved its Senior Night up to Friday's home opener. The Falcons improved to 13-2 in home openers since they started playing at the Falcon Athletic Complex in 2006.
"I'm pleased with what the result was and how we took care of business," LePage said.
Blair Oaks (2-0) begins Tri-County Conference play at 7 p.m. Friday at California. The Pintos (2-0), off to their best start since 2014, blanked the Fulton Hornets 49-0 on the road Friday, the team's first shutout win since 2016.