Loeffler's Link

Blair Oaks marches on, finishes
off a tough week for California

Blair Oaks senior Ethan Luebbering (23) is congratulated by teammates after catching a 35-yard touchdown pass from Cade Stockman during the first quarter of Friday night's game with California in Wardsville.

Oct. 6, 2017

WARDSVILLE, Mo. --- It was another good night for Terry Walker and the Blair Oaks football program.

On the other sideline, losing a game was the best thing that happened to the California Pintos this week.

The California football family --- really, the entire California community--- suffered the most difficult of losses on Monday with the passing of longtime coach Geary Labruary, 65, after his valiant battle with cancer.

The Falcons won the game, 44-6 , but you could understand if the Pintos' hearts were heavy and minds were elsewhere. It was Labruary, after all, who turned California into a football power in Missouri in the 1980s and 90s.

He finished with 307 wins during his 34-year career as head coach, with the bulk of those wins coming with the Pintos. Under Labruary, the Pintos won 13 district championship --- including six straight in in the 1990s --- and advanced to the championship game three straight years, winning it in 1997.

Those were the days, indeed.

In 2017, California (1-7) has now lost four straight by a combined total of 186-34, and was no match for Blair Oaks (8-0, No. 2 Class 3) on this night. The Falcons have won 28 straight in the regular season, the last 26 under Walker.

There's also this:

Seven miles north of Wardsville, Walker's alma mater, the Jefferson City Jays, celebrated homecoming Friday night with a marquee 31-14 win over the state-ranked Battle Spartans. Walker was an old school, hard-nosed two-way player during Jefferson City's 1984 state championship season --- a great blocker on the offensive line, an all-state linebacker with a jarring and sure style of tackling on defense.

He's brought that old school, hard-nosed, fundamentally-sound approach as a head coach to Wardsville. And if you were wondering, the answer is yes --- old school still works.

These Falcons just pass a lot more than the Jays did during Walker's playing days.

Freshman quarterback Cade Stockman was 13-of-21 for 189 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark this season. Stockman continues to do more than adequate job as a replacement for starter Nolan Hair, who's been out with a hairline fracture in his lower right leg. Hair is on the mend and may return to the lineup in the next two weeks.

The Falcons took a 6-0 lead midway the first quarter when Stockman hooked up with Ethan Luebbering on a 35-yard score. That capped a three-play, 36-yard drive to paydirt, a drive set up by Drew Boessen's interception.

The Pintos had an early answer, as Dakota Henry picked off a swing pass from Stockman and was able to outran Blair Oaks lineman Justin Cobb for a 65-yard return to tie it 6-6 with 4:32 left in the opening frame.

The Falcons, however, scored on their ensuing possession on 51-yard pass from Stockman to Ben Thomas and never looked back. The lead moved to 20-6 midway through the second quarter on Marcus Edler's 20-yard interception return, and to 28-6 at the half when Riley Lentz scored on fourth-and-goal from the one.

Lentz, a sophomore, accounted for both touchdowns in the second half on runs of one and three yards for the Falcons, who outgained the Pintos 298-104 while clinching at least a share of the Tri-County Conference championship.

Like its head coach, Blair Oaks knows how to win --- and what it takes to win.

For California, here's hoping next week is a better one.