By the end of the first half on Saturday, the game seemed to have been decided for the North Callaway boys.

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The Thunderbirds defeated Macon 53-31 to open the season with a decisive victory at the Gary Filbert Classic in Mexico. North Callaway had nine players score and help grow its lead that was 24-15 at halftime.

Macon was led by bench player Evan Newland’s seven points but didn’t display the depth North Callaway has this season. Four players finished with five points and seven had four points.

“We played nine dudes in the first quarter,” head coach Matt Miller said. “Over the course of the game, it’s wearing them down with our speed, athleticism and our depth. It worked tonight.

Jamarion Glover stood out from the group with 13 points and 14 rebounds to earn the Gary Filbert Player of the Game award. Jake Blevins followed with 13 points, Levi Drake had five points and three steals, and Austin Brown had five points.

Glover matched up with Macon’s Cash Reid in the paint in Glover’s first ever varsity game that was just the start of a “bright future” Miller foresees. Reid finished with 12 rebounds but had 10 of those in the first half and four points in the game. 

“He’s still just a young guy being a sophomore,” Miller said. “He’s a big young man, strong and athletic. This is probably a surprise to our fans, but it’s not really a surprise to the team because we’ve been seeing this since the summer. Since the season started, he's been doing a really good job in practice.”

Defense was another aspect of Saturday’s win that wasn’t a surprise to Miller and the Thunderbirds. Macon scored single digits in each of the first three quarters, including five points in the third quarter. Meanwhile, North Callaway’s offense went from nine points in the first quarter to 15 points in the second quarter.

Miller said the team’s depth of speed and athleticism applies to the defensive end too. It is what Miller took the most pride in.

“You hold the team to 30 points in varsity basketball, that’s a good night on the defensive end,” Miller said. “We mixed some defenses, we were pressing some, working some half-court zone and then some man later on. Guys were rotating hard with a lot of energy on the defensive end. If you’re doing that, you’re usually going to be in the game and have good days.”