Blair Oaks bringing ‘edge’ into 2024 season
WARDSVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)
High school football returns to the Falcon Athletic Complex in just 32 days.
Blair Oaks is preparing for its first official practice of the season on Aug. 12 by taking advantage of one last week of summer workouts. Ted LePage's team is entering the new athletic year with plenty of motivation.
"We really have an edge that you can't get without having some experience of hurt," Ted LePage, Blair Oaks' head football coach, said. "Our kids had some experience of hurt last year, and the edge has just been unbelievable."
The Falcons fell just one game short of reaching back-to-back state championships last season, falling to Central (Park Hills) 48-43 in a contest where Blair Oaks nearly erased a 28-point third quarter deficit. The team has not forgotten about that loss, using it as fuel to stay locked in during training camp.
"You come so close, and then, you can taste it but we didn't get there. It was just very painful to see all the seniors lose when it was that close, so that's just something that we don't want to do again," Blair Oaks quarterback Tyler Bax said.
"I really do think there's extra motivation. I know that you're that close, you have the ball, you have a chance to win the game, it just really is devastating," LePage said. "I think that hurt can carry over. You don't want it to be a curse on you. You don't want to sit there and be pouty about it. You want to have that reminder that, this rep hurts, but that rep really hurt that I didn't finish."
With their minds set on "finishing" the mission as a team in 2024, Blair Oaks has several key players returning from last year's district championship squad, including their starting quarterback. Two of the position groups that LePage highlighted heading into the new season is his team's offensive and defensive lines.
"We have four O-Line starters back. D-Line we have three starters back, so there's a great competition there, and I think that's where we're going to be really powerful this year is our O-Line and D-Lines," LePage said.
The Falcons will welcome Maryville to Wardsville on Aug. 30 for Week 1 of the season, excited for what this season could bring.
"Everybody wants to come in. Everybody wants to go for that state title. Everybody wants to compete, and we're all just having fun," Blair Oaks running back Hayden Lackman said.
