North Callaway football was tired of waiting for a conference championship.
Not only did the Thunderbirds post their fourth straight 50-point game but their third shutout of the season in a 54-0 …
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North Callaway football was tired of waiting for a conference championship.
Not only did the Thunderbirds post their fourth straight 50-point game but their third shutout of the season in a 54-0 victory over Wright City (6-3, 4-2 EMO) on Friday at home. North Callaway’s seniors were able to secure the program’s first Eastern Missouri Conference title since 2017 after the Thunderbirds (8-1, 6-0 EMO) rushed for 209 yards and allowed 124 total yards.
Head coach Kevin O’Neal coached the 2017 team that went to the state quarterfinals and is happy his players this year achieved their first goal with a conference championship.
“This is for them more than anything,” O’Neal said. “This is a great group of kids, and they deserve this conference championship. They put a lot of work in for it.”
O’Neal called North Callaway practice leading up to Wright City “the best week of practice we’ve had all year” because his players didn’t want to waste the opportunity to win the conference outright. If the Thunderbirds lost, they would have shared the title with Wright City and Montgomery County.
Wyatt Haden was one of the seniors recognized before the game. Haden then ran for two touchdowns and finished with seven tackles and a sack. He said the team has a “great culture” so the seniors went up to each other and said, “This is for you, man.”
“Every game has been special for me this year while being able to be with the team and do what I love doing,” Haden said. “It was a great Senior Night, and I want to thank all the guys that made it great for me.”
North Callaway is averaging more points per game (43.8) since its 2017 team (42.9) while its defense is the best (13.6 points allowed) since 2017 (11.9). The program has come full circle in a way because O’Neal said defensive coordinator Jordan Delashmutt was a fullback and linebacker on that 2017 team.
The results of the current team’s hard work has meant North Callaway’s offense is “in as good of a spot as we’ve been in a long time,” O’Neal said, while excelling in other phases. A blocked punt that was returned by Brandon Biggers for a touchdown helped the Thunderbirds take a 40-0 halftime lead to force a running clock in the second half, and Tristan Petty returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown in the second half.
“Our special teams has improved throughout the year,” O’Neal said. “At the end, when you know they’re going to throw the ball, you maintain discipline and Tristan came up with a big interception. The quarterback was hit as he threw the ball so our defensive lineman had a little bit to do with that as well.”
Haden said he is able to do well in multiple phases of the game with good preparation.
“It goes back to watching film,” Haden said. “You can almost tell what the play is going to be before they snap the ball. I want to thank my linemen because they were always standing the offensive linemen up so I could get in there and make tackles.”
Haden said the offense is more “explosive and varied” after handing it off to Jaiden Galbreath, who finished with 55 yards and one touchdown on nine carries, mostly last year. Senior transfer Kellen Long had 44 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown. On defense, Long led with nine tackles, which were all solo tackles.
Coltyn O’Neal added 77 passing yards on 4-for-5 passing, but a two-point conversion was his standout moment. O’Neal’s pass was swatted back to him and he ran around the defense to convert on the two points on the completion to himself. The O’Neal family, who are big Chiefs fans, remember watching a similar play unfold.
“Being a Chiefs fan, I remember when Marcus Mariota did it to us in the playoffs,” O’Neal said. “He had a ball tipped back to him and completed a pass to himself for a touchdown. That’s the first thing Coltyn said to me, ‘I did the Marcus Mariota dad.’”
O’Neal said the offensive line gave O’Neal time to move in the pocket and will be key for North Callaway’s success when it hosts state No. 8 Father Tolton (7-2) at 7 p.m. Friday in the Class 2 District 5 playoffs.
“It starts with line play,” O’Neal said. “Our offensive and defensive line have to play well. As an old offensive lineman myself, that’s my favorite group on the team. It starts with them. With the backs that we have, we can be unpredictable offensively.”
