Pressley Schmauch is in her junior year at North Callaway High School. In that time, she is a three-time state runner.

Schmauch qualified for the Class 3 state meet for the third time after finishing 25th with a time of 21:49.7 on Saturday at the Class 3 District 3 meet in Fulton. She will be the lone North Callaway representative at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia for the second straight year as the top 30 individual runners were all-district and earned the honor.

Behind Schmauch, Grace Rasmussen was 46th out 104 runners with a time of 23:21.6 for the next best Ladybird finish. Brendan Reinhard had the top North Callaway boys’ time in 55th place out of 116 runners with a time of 19:08.8, and Tristan Young was 75th with a time of 19:53.8. Southern Boone swept the individual titles as Conner Burns won the boys race with a time of 16:19.2 — holding off runner-up Bowling Green’s Ben Chance’s time of 16:21 — and Alexandra Volkart had a first-place time of 18:53.8.

Head coach Kathleen Jeffries said Schmauch was ranked 29th according to a MoMileSplit virtual meet so the 25th place beats expectations, which is saying a lot against a loaded field.

“We knew it was going to be tough because if everybody ran their best, she was right on that borderline to qualify top 30,” Jeffries said. “There were some girls on other teams that we were like, ‘If you can stay with these girls, you should be fine’ Throughout the whole race, she was exceeding expectations.”

While her teammates won’t be joining Schmauch on Saturday, Jeffries said everyone else had “a good day” based on how close or just under they were to their season-bests. For at least a boy to have a chance at state, they would have to run a personal-best, which was complicated more by the “soupy” course at the Fulton Athletic Complex in the morning.

“A season record is the best you ran all season so sometimes the students think, every time they come out, it needs to be a record day,” Jeffries said. “That’s asking a lot so when they’re just under that season record, you feel pretty good. I’m pleased with how everybody did as a group.”

Schmauch is scheduled to run at 11:15 a.m. Saturday in the Class 3 girls race. Faring well in North Callaway’s district field gives Jeffries some optimism for what would be Schmauch’s second career all-state medal.

“If she can hang with these girls, that gives her a great chance to hang with other girls.” Jeffries said. “We’re just so happy she’s going. I know she puts a lot of pressure on herself, and she’s pleased with herself.”

Football

North Callaway defense, O'Neal's legs lead to district win at Tolton

A shootout became a shutout on Friday night in Columbia.

After trailing 28-22 at halftime, North Callaway shut out Father Tolton in the second half to win 38-28 and advance to the semifinals in the Class 2 District 2 Tournament at No. 1 seed and top state-ranked Blair Oaks (9-0) on Friday. After stopping two Trailblazer drives in the first half, North Callaway (7-3) stalled all four of Tolton’s drives in the second half.

Quarterback Braydn O’Neal ran for 205 yards on 16 carries, threw for 80 yards on 8-for-9 passing with an interception and scored three touchdowns — two rushing. Tolton (7-3) finished with 98 yards rushing on 27 carries and went two yards into the negative in the second half. Kyle Pennell caught a touchdown pass and led the defense with two sacks and five tackles while AJ Siegel and Sergio Moreno each had a team-high six tackles.

Head coach Kevin O’Neal said after a scoring-heavy first half, the Thunderbirds made some adjustments to gain an advantage.

“Our alignment a little bit and our coverages with our defensive backs (changed),” O’Neal said. “We put in a couple different blitzes there at halftime to get after the quarterback and get him off his spot because he was doing a great job, when he had time to throw, finding receivers. Our goal was to make him uncomfortable in the pocket, and I think we did that.”

Jake Ryan didn’t match O’Neal’s rushing totals in the first half — O’Neal had 102 yards compared with 33 yards for Ryan — but the Tolton quarterback matched O’Neal’s two touchdowns through 24 minutes. Ryan threw for 211 yards on 18-for-26 passing with a touchdown and interception and wasn’t sacked until Pennell reached him twice in the third quarter, taking him down alone the first time and leading a flock of Thunderbirds to swallow him up the second time.

North Callaway went 63 yards on 11 plays on the first drive of the second half, capped by running back Tucker Wright’s second touchdown, to take a 30-28 lead. The Trailblazers had fourth down and only a couple yards to go near midfield on their next drive, but their lineman, Ian Meyer, ran into a wall despite scoring a 20-yard touchdown on a similar play on fourth down in the first half.

Early in the fourth quarter, North Callaway had a short field starting at the Tolton 36-yard line before scoring on four plays. After showcasing his speed to the outside for most of the night, O’Neal broke through the middle for a seven-yard scamper for the 38-28 lead with about nine minutes left.

“He’s been great for us all year. He’s one of the best quarterbacks I’ve coached and am very proud to be his dad,” O’Neal said while getting choked up. “He did a great job. He led us again tonight as he’s been doing it all year.”

The first half was a game of one-upmanship as Ryan opened the scoring with a nine-yard scramble before O’Neal scrambled to the left sideline he followed for a 43-yard touchdown, making it 8-6 North Callaway.

The Thunderbirds tied the game at 14 with 45 seconds left in the first quarter after a long Moreno kickoff return set up a two-play drive from the Tolton 19-yard line, but then the Trailblazers took a 22-14 lead seconds later after Carson Jacaway returned his kickoff reception for a touchdown.

With less than two minutes left in the second quarter, O’Neal found Pennell for touchdown and then North Callaway tied the game at 22 after Moreno snatched the tipped ball inches off the grass for the two-point conversion. Another long kickoff return gave Tolton a short field for a drive that culminated in a 15-yard touchdown from Jake Ryan to Sam Ryan, who snagged the ball out of the air in the corner of the end zone while Cashton Holloway played close defense. Sam Ryan made eight catches for 106 yards.

“I expected Father Tolton to come out and give their best effort,” O’Neal said. “Coach (Michael) Egnew is doing a great job building a program here, and they’ve got some pretty special kids. We knew they were going to come ready to play. They have some very good skill position guys. I’m just proud of the way our kids hung in there and kept plugging away.”

With about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Tolton moved the ball deep into North Callaway territory, but Ryan had three incompletions that contributed to the Thunderbirds turning over Tolton on downs at the seven-yard line. North Callaway took the ball 89 yards before O’Neal was intercepted by Jacaway, but three minutes had been shaved off the clock and Tolton had its longest field of the night.

Ryan led the Trailblazers during their two-minute drill, completing 37-yard passes to James Lee and Sam Ryan. Siegel secured North Callaway’s trip to Wardsville on Friday to face undefeated Blair Oaks after picking off Ryan at the one-yard line. O’Neal said the Falcons will obviously present a challenge, but it’s a challenge the Thunderbirds are happy to have.

“It’s an opportunity for us to see where we want to be as a program and to come out and give our best effort,” O’Neal said. “I talk to these guys all the time. Not many times in life do you get opportunities. We have one coming up and make sure you play your hardest because you never know when that moment might be special.”