WARDSVILLE, Mo. - When the 2016 schedule was released, the Blair Oaks Falcons knew their Week 2 matchup against the Oak Grove Panthers was going to be a battle of two football powerhouses. What wasn't expected was one of the two teams would still be looking for its first win.
Blair Oaks easily won last Friday's season opener against Kirksville 34-0. Oak Grove, meanwhile, lost at unranked Richmond 14-0 in a matchup of Missouri River Valley Conference opponents.
Tonight's meeting between Blair Oaks and Oak Grove may be a matchup of two state-ranked opponents, but Blair Oaks coach Terry Walker said it's not going to be a game that defines the Falcons' season.
"From a fan perspective, it's a great matchup," Walker said. "You got Blair Oaks, which has been a traditional Class 2 power, playing Oak Grove, which is a traditional Class 3 power. We're certainly trying to establish ourselves in Class 3. From that perspective, it is great.
"We know we're going to see a quality opponent. We know we have to execute in order to be successful. That's going to be the same expectation if you want to continue on with your season at the end of the year."
Last Friday was the first meeting between Oak Grove and Richmond since 2011 - Oak Grove is in the MRVC West, Richmond is in the MRVC East - and it was the first shut out the Panthers have suffered since the 2005 season.
Richmond held the Panthers to 213 yards of offense, all on the ground. Oak Grove never advanced the ball past the Richmond 37-yard line.
"They just kept battling and kept grinding," Walker said of Richmond. "I've watched the film two or three times now and I got the impression they certainly know Oak Grove very well.
"Since we haven't seen (Oak Grove's) offense, the first couple of possessions, we're going to have to adjust to the speed of the game. I'm sure once we do that, we're going to be just fine."
Leading the offensive attack this season for Oak Grove is running back Kenton Wilhoit, who gained 1,662 yards rushing and scored 22 touchdowns to earn All-State honors as a sophomore in 2015.
"When you look at their offense, we definitely need to know where he's at," Walker said. "He is a tough, tough runner. The way their offense is structured, he's not going to go out and carry the ball 40 times a game. They're going to spread the ball around a little bit."
It's clear Oak Grove favors the run after having a 26-to-1 run-to-pass ratio in Week 1. Against Richmond, Wilhoit had 21 carries for 109 yards. No other Panther gained more than 50 yards on the ground.
It will be rare for the Panthers to advance the ball through the air, but their offensive setup isn't a traditional one. Walker said Oak Grove will line up seven guys on the line, tight end to tight end, and all 11 players are packed in a 10- to 12-yard wide box.
"They do so much pulling and crossing in the backfield with their guards," Walker said. "It's an offense that we won't see the rest of the year. Twenty-five years ago, it probably would have been the equivalent of the wishbone offense, in the sense that they fire off the ball hard. All of the backs carry out their fakes extremely well. You'll have two or three guys moving in two or three different directions, but with the way they're carrying out their fake, you're not sure who has the football."
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Jacob Pavlica and safety Jake Moore, both seniors, return as the team's leading tacklers with 43 tackles each last season. Walker said junior linebacker Jake Jackson is another quality player on the Panthers' defense and Wilhoit will play both sides of the ball, lining up at safety on defense.
Walker said the Panthers also have size advantage on the line, which includes Austin Kemp, a 6-foot-3, 282-pound senior.
"They're just a good football team, top to bottom," Walker said. "They're not going to beat themselves. You've got to play fundamentally sound football to give yourself a chance."
Last week, the Falcons' offense sputtered at times against Kirksville. Then in the third quarter, when they began to utilize the wishbone formation in the backfield, it ignited a spark and led to three straight scoring drives. With sophomore quarterback Nolan Hair making his first start against Kirksville, it was all about finding his comfort zone.
"Our offensive identity right now is that we have a couple different things we can do," Walker said. "Nolan is going to be a very good quarterback one of these days, but right now we need to try and call some plays for him that we're not expecting him to do too much. That's one of the reasons we went to the three-back set in the backfield.
"Another reason was to try and get the kids to embrace some of that physicality of the game, firing off the ball and trying to move people off the ball. It worked on Friday night and we'll continue to use it. But we're not going to marry ourselves to the wishbone and that be the only thing we can do."
Notes: Blair Oaks moved up one spot in this week's Missouri Media football rankings, climbing to No. 2 in Class 3. The Falcons also received four first-place votes after defending state champion John Burroughs lost 27-26 to St. Dominic last Friday. Oak Grove, which was ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll, dropped five spots to No. 10 in Class 3 this week after its loss to Richmond. The Falcons were injury-free for the most part following last week's opener. Senior lineman Mason Gipe has been nursing a sore knee but is expected to play tonight, Walker said. Caleb Buechter, who suffered a knee strain during the Blair Oaks Jamboree two weeks ago, will be out at least two more weeks.
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