California looks to show what it can do against Blair Oaks

The California defense lines up for a play during last Friday night's Tri-County Conference game against Southern Boone in California.

CALIFORNIA - The California Pintos are getting ready for their toughest opponent yet, as the Pintos (1-7) will face the No, 1 ranked team in Class 3, the Blair Oaks Falcons tonight in Wardsville.

The Pintos are coming off of a heartbreaking 21-14 loss to the Southern Boone Eagles last week. It looked like California was going to pull off the upset but the team lost a fumble in their own red zone that was returned by the Eagles for a touchdown with just more than a minute left in the game.

Pintos coach Derek Scroggins said the team is looking at tonight's game as an opportunity to show what the team can do.

"We know exactly what Blair Oaks is, we know how good of a team they are, and their record," Scroggins said. "We know what we are getting into and we are 100 percent looking at it as an opportunity to go out there and show what we can do."

Scroggins said that Blair Oaks is a very disciplined team

"They got great team speed and they execute," he said.

Scroggins said the California coaches are focusing on making sure the kids are ready for the 7 p.m. contest.

"We got a couple of injuries and we are operating under the 'next man up' principle and it will be a good opportunity for a couple of kids to show what they can do," Scroggins said.

Scroggins said the injuries are not going to affect the game plan of the Pintos.

"We are going to operate the same way as if our regular kids are there or not," he said.

California is going to try to play a physical game against Blair Oaks, according to Scroggins.

"We are going to try to go out there and play a tough, physical football game," he said. "From the film we have seen, we haven't really seen them have to play a physical football team. That is one of the things we have kind of grown to be know for this year and so we are going to take our chances and give it everything we got."

The Pintos will have to try to slow down a Falcons' offense that has scored 40 or more points in five of their eight games.

Blair Oak's running game is led by running back Riley Lentz, who has 610 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, Falcons' quarterback Dylan Hair is second on the team with 408 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Hair has also thrown for 1,712 yards and has 23 passing touchdowns and six interceptions.

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