COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Lamar Tigers came up just short of the program’s ninth state championship, dropping the Class 2 title game to Blair Oaks 32-27 on Friday at Faurot Field.
Despite being flagged 12 times for 174-yards to Blair Oaks’ 20 yards in penalties, and despite giving up some big plays to the Falcons, Jared Beshore’s Tigers put themselves in a position to win the game at the end.
“We faced some dark times in the second half, but the kids never backed down,” Beshore said. “We got the ball back with six minutes to go and we gave ourselves a chance. I’m extremely proud of how hard they fought.”
A fourth down pass deep in Blair Oaks territory fell incomplete as Lamar suffered a second heart-wrenching championship loss in as many seasons. Last year, Lutheran St. Charles scored the game-winning touchdown in the waning seconds. It was later determined that they had 12-men on the field when they scored.
“The No. 1 thing I told the kids after the game is that we love them and that the coaching staff is very proud of them,” said Beshore, whose team finished 12-2.
Blair Oaks ran the table at 14-0. The state title was their third in the last five years.
Lamar got on the board first when senior quarterback Joel Beshore busted a run up the middle for 21-yards on the Tigers’ first possession. Lamar’s defense then forced a punt when Xavier Pagacz and Cameron Sturgell combined to sack Dylan Hair on second and long. The tandem pressured him into an errant throw on third down.
The Falcons got the ball back via a Lamar fumble. They would get on the board midway through the second quarter when Hair fired a slant to Alec Weiberg, who outran the Lamar defense 78-yards for the score. The point after attempt was no good.
A 10-play drive culminated in a 6-yard Beshore scoring run as Lamar extended its advantage. But with just 10 seconds to play in the half Hair hit a wide-open Nichol Closser for a 36-yard touchdown. Ty Willhite broke up the two point conversion try and Lamar led 14-12 at the break.
The Falcons took their first lead on a 49-yard run by Hair early in the third quarter.
The back-and-forth affair continued with junior Ian Ngugi making an over-the-shoulder catch on a deep ball from Beshore. The play covered 44-yards and the Tigers regained the lead at 21-20.
Hair scored on a two-yard run late in the third quarter and then struck with another big play through the air, finding Wieberg for 72-yards to give the Falcons a two-score lead.
Coach Beshore went to his bag of tricks at the midway point of the fourth quarter. Willhite took the handoff on an apparent run play, but then pulled up and threw a strike to Ngugi on a halfback pass. The 50-yard touchdown got the Tigers back in it.
After getting a defensive stop, the Tigers offense mounted a drive that was stymied by penalties and eventually died out at the Falcons’ 25.
Coach Beshore praised a senior class that was instrumental in taking the team to three state title appearances in a row.
“This group has faced a lot of adversity, even going back to the summer,” he said. “We knew that they would need to grow and mature as leaders if we were going to become a great team. They put in the work. They became great leaders and as a coaching staff, we couldn’t be more proud of this group of kids.”
Beshore is particularly close to this senior class. He’s been watching his brother Joel and his classmates play tackle football since they were in the third grade.
“It’s not just the kids who put up the stats or get the honors that made this happen,” Coach Beshore said. “It’s all of them. They stepped up. They made the sacrifice of their time and their effort in the weight room and on the field and they were able to reap the benefits.”
Joel Beshore finished with 115 yards on 21 carries. Terrill Davis had 111 on 14 attempts. Austin Wilkerson added 50 yards on the ground and Cooper Haun had 40. Beshore was 3-for-7 passing for 86 yards and the score. Ngugi caught two balls for 94 yards, scoring on both. Willhite caught two balls for 42 yards to go with this passing touchdown.
Hair ran for 94 yards and passed for 250. Wieberg led the Falcons’ receivers with four grabs for 170 and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Wilkerson led the Tigers with eight total tackles. Six were solo stops. Beshore and Willhite each had four tackles. Alex Wilkerson added three.
