SportsZone Football Friday Preview: Blair Oaks vs. Southern Boone
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Rivalries headline week three with a clash of the birds in Ashland.
Blair Oaks will travel to Southern Boone for week three in search of an 18th straight win over the Eagles.
Despite the one-sided history, the 2026 season has already been filled with surprises. The Falcons suffered a loss in week one, the first time they did so since week two of the 2024-25 year.
"Little things matter, and we're a football team just like every other football team in the state of Missouri," Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said. "State titles aren't handed out after week one. The only thing you can do is each week get better and better."
Also for the first time since the 2024 season, the Southern Boone Eagles picked up a pair of wins in their first two games.
"We've had a pretty good start so far. I'm really pleased with where our culture is and where our intent is," Southern Boone coach Tyler Tanner said. "There's definitely some things that we've got to clean up right now like any team this early in the season, but right now, I like our mindset and I like how we're playing."
With the history between these teams, it would be easy for the Eagles to over think this game, but that is exactly what coach Tanner is looking to prevent. As long as his team manages to focus on their game rather than the opponent's, they'll have their best shot to pick up a win.
"We have to focus on ourselves more so than anybody else. Once we start to focus on somebody else other than ourselves, that's whenever the wheels fall off. That's when we start to make mistakes and that's when we stopped playing our style of football," Tanner said.
Blair Oaks is aware of the game that Southern Boone plays: Clean, tight, and not many mistakes. With an early pair of wins the Southern Boone has some newfound confidence, which will make them a force on both sides of the ball.
"They're not beating themselves, and when you say teams aren't beating themselves, they're winning games." LePage said. "Defensively, they have nine turnovers in two games, and I don't know if there's anybody better in the state at that."
The two programs will meet at 7:00 at Southern Boone High school to kick off the third week of games on Friday, Sept. 11.
