North Callaway hadn’t had a shutout since 2022 before last week.

The Thunderbirds have posted two straight shutouts after winning 56-0 against Mark Twain (1-6, 0-4 EMO) during Homecoming on Friday. North Callaway (6-1, 4-0 EMO) has outscored its previous two Eastern Missouri Conference foes 110-0.

North Callaway held Mark Twain to 63 rushing yards and -3 passing yards. Head coach Kevin O’Neal said the Thunderbirds only struggled some on inside running plays, but the kids continue to “play fast” on defense for defensive coordinator Jordan Delashmutt.

“They understand the game very well and understand what we want out of them,” O’Neal said. “They do a pretty good job of executing most of the time.”

North Callaway forced three turnovers, including an interception by Tristan Petty and fumble recoveries by Jaiden Galbreath and Zac Craghead, and scored touchdowns after each of them. Kellen Long led with seven tackles and Wyatt Haden had five tackles.

Galbreath was “explosive” on the offensive as well with 144 rushing yards and three touchdowns on five carries as the Thunderbirds finished with 362 yards on the ground. Collin Moore had 75 yards on two carries, and Haden had 56 yards and one touchdown on three carries. Tyler Speight added 45 yards and one touchdown on seven carries, and Long had 35 yards and one touchdown on three carries.

“A lot of his runs, he was breaking tackles and running hard,” O’Neal said about Galbreath. “Because of us spreading the ball around, he’s fresher when he touches the ball and not as worn down.”

North Callaway has seen end zone plenty in the last two weeks but is prepared for tough conference games in the final two weeks. Before facing a loaded Class 2 District 5 field, the Thunderbirds play at Van-Far (4-3, 3-2 EMO) at 7 p.m. Friday and then host Wright City (6-1, 4-0 EMO) to end the regular season.

“It’s good we play two tough teams to get us going into a pretty tough district,” O’Neal said.