Class 3 District 6 playoff pairings finalized

Some surprises and intriguing match-ups as the district football pairings are set at the beginning of the playoffs.

First of all...as expected the Blair Oaks Falcons will host the Versailles Tigers on Friday night in the one vs. eight match-up. The Falcons are coming off a 70-0 shellacking of the Tigers last Friday night.

Also Friday night...second place Fulton will host seventh place Boonville while Southern Boone...which finished sixth in the district despite a 5 and 4 record...will travel to third seed California. Suprising Owensville got the final home game with a fourth place finish, despite a 4 and 5 record. The Dutchmen will host the dangerous Eldon Mustangs.

What that means is that the Falcons could wind up seeing the Mustangs for the second time this season in Wardsville, and everybody remembers the last time these two teams got together. It was a pitched battle with lots of big plays and very little defense. The Falcons came from two scores down in the second half to win 62-47.

If the Falcons survive week 11...then it's likely we'll see the Fulton Hornets, the number two seed in the district, and a real darkhorse. If you don't know about the Hornets, you should. They finished third in the Class 4 dominated North Central Missouri Conference, losing only to undefeated Hannibal and one-loss Mexico. The Hornets are a senior-laden team, led by running back Travis Dean. He leads the area with nearly 1,600 yards rushing. Junior quarterback Devin Masek is a dual threat guy...but when he puts it up, the Hornets have all kinds of speed burners catching passes, including Rodarion Glover, a three year starter.

But...as they say...first things first. Keep everybody healthy Friday night against Versailles and get a win to advance. Lose and you go home. The playoffs are here.