The first half hasn’t been kind to North Callaway so far this season and Friday at Macon was no different.
The Thunderbirds trailed 16-0 at halftime before scoring the next 30 points and …
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The first half hasn’t been kind to North Callaway so far this season and Friday at Macon was no different.
The Thunderbirds trailed 16-0 at halftime before scoring the next 30 points and winning 30-22. North Callaway (2-0) rushed for 327 yards and had a couple of 100-yard games from Collin Moore and Wyatt Haden.
Haden ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns on six carries, and Moore amassed 124 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Head coach Kevin O’Neal said he isn’t sure why North Callaway has started slow this season, as the team scored six points in one half in last week’s 34-14 win against South Callaway.
“We started slow offensively in the first half, we had to adjust some things and shore up some blocking,” O’Neal said. “I’m proud of my kids for the way they fight to the end of the game.”
O’Neal credits his coaches for preparing and players for responding before the second half. The preparation before the game against Macon (1-1) came into play as the Tigers needed a certain approach on offense.
“Macon’s very aggressive defensively,” O’Neal said. “We had some counter plays that we worked on this week that ended up hitting big.”
For example, Haden ran 75 yards for North Callaway’s first touchdown. When defenders pay attention to the team’s other backs, O’Neal said Haden can take advantage.
Jaiden Galbreath finished with 55 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries. The Thunderbirds evenly spread the ball between their backs like they want to this season.
“Wyatt is the guy who carries the ball on our counter plays,” O’Neal said. “He can break some long runs because of everybody keying in on the other guys.”
Collin Moore was a difference maker on defense by leading North Callaway with nine tackles and accounting for the game-sealing play. After Macon recovered an onside kick while down 30-22, Moore made an interception at the 2-yard line with about 24 seconds remaining.
While North Callaway was fighting back, the defense held Macon to 219 total yards, including 103 rushing yards.
“Our defense played well in the first half, but we just didn’t do anything offensively to move the ball,” O’Neal said. “We knew we were going to give up some points because Macon is a good football team.”
North Callaway plays its Eastern Missouri Conference opener at Montgomery County (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.
