Pintos look for first win in regular season finale vs. Blair Oaks

California senior Alex Meisenheimer (16) watches the Centralia quarterback attempt a pass during the Blair Oaks Jamboree earlier this season at the Falcon Athletic Complex in Wardsville.
California senior Alex Meisenheimer (16) watches the Centralia quarterback attempt a pass during the Blair Oaks Jamboree earlier this season at the Falcon Athletic Complex in Wardsville.

CALIFORNIA - The regular season ends with a matchup between the first-place and last-place teams in the Tri-County Conference.

The California Pintos host the Blair Oaks Falcons - ranked No. 2 in Class 2 in this week's Missouri Media Rankings - at 7 p.m. today.

California (0-8, 0-6 Tri-County) is coming off of a 55-16 loss to Southern Boone last Friday, while Blair Oaks (8-0, 6-0 Tri-County) won its game last week 59-7 against School of the Osage.

With a win tonight, Blair Oaks would win the Tri-County title outright for a fourth consecutive season.

California will have to play without starting quarterback Alex Currens, who has to sit out a game after being ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit during last Friday's loss.

Backup quarterback Hunter Oliver will start for California this week. Oliver played some quarterback for the team during their game last month against Versailles.

California coach Mikel Gragg said the Pintos are going to give it their best shot.

"Any given night, there is going to be an upset, and why not us?" Gragg said. "That is kind of the message we have, anyone can be upset as long as we go in and give it our best shot."

Gragg said Blair Oaks uses a run-pass option offense, and the Pintos should be ready to see a lot of that in tonight's game.

"Offensively, they have a lot of weapons and they spread it out very well," Gragg said.

Gragg also said Blair Oaks is fast to the football with its 3-4 defensive scheme.

Gragg said California is going to need to compete in order to keep the game close.

"It is a great rivalry for our kids," he said. "As long as we come out and do what we have to do, we will see where it falls."

Last week, Blair Oaks rushed for 177 yards and five touchdowns. They are led by junior running back Riley Lentz, who has rushed for 466 yards and seven touchdowns, and senior slotback Braydan Pritchett, who has rushed for 443 yards and 12 touchdowns.

When it comes to the air game, Blair Oaks is led by senior Nolan Hair, a returning all-state quarterback who is 87-of-128 passing for 1,916 yards, with 26 touchdowns and no interceptions. Hair also has 310 yards on the ground and six touchdowns.

Senior wide receiver Ben Thomas has 28 catches for 821 yards, scoring touchdowns on half his receptions. Thomas and Pritchett were both all-state honorees last season.

On defense, Blair Oaks is led by junior linebacker Sam Luebbering, who has team-highs of 63 tackles and 5 sacks.

Pritchett, who plays safety, has a team-high 33 solo tackles. Senior cornerback Marcus Edler has a team-high three interceptions.

There is a likely chance these two teams will meet again in the first round of the Class 2 District 5 playoffs.

With one regular-season game to go, Blair Oaks leads the district standings with 55.14 points. California is in the No. 8 position with 22.45, trailing seventh-seeded Hallsville by 4.69 points.

Should California win tonight, it would still be the No. 8 seed because of Hallsville's head-to-head win against the Pintos earlier this season.

Related Media: California Pintos Football Podcast [Blair Oaks preview, Oct. 19, 2018]