North Callaway didn’t have a good first quarter last week.

The Thunderbirds were in an early hole before losing 35-28 at Macon last week but turned that around this week. They outscored Eastern Missouri Conference rival Montgomery County 16-0 in the first quarter before winning 54-6 in the conference opener at home.

Coltyn O’Neal threw for five touchdowns and 235 yards on 13-for-20 passing and led the offense to a 54-0 halftime lead. O’Neal said he and the rest of the seniors had to take accountability early in the game.

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“(Kevin O’Neal) really got on to us upperclassmen and seniors to take a leadership role this week in practice,” Coltyn O’Neal said. “The captains did a really good job of keeping everybody up. Effort was there all week at practice, and it shows.”

North Callaway had several finish with big games like Tristan Petty catching five for 98 yards and three touchdowns, Collin Moore catching five for 69 yards and two touchdowns, and Jaiden Galbreath running for 170 yards and one touchdown on seven carries. Four Thunderbird receivers made catches and each of them had at least one go for more than 10 yards.

Head coach Kevin O’Neal said North Callaway wanted a “perfect” first quarter with the offense scoring and the defense shutting down Montgomery County. The Thunderbirds got that by staying focused on the game and their specific jobs to not make the game too big. The offense, however, has expanded and had a great night with 441 yards.

“These guys are in this offense for the third year now,” Kevin O’Neal said. “It allows us to expand it and keep going. We’ve got good receivers around (Coltyn), and the offensive line is doing a good job of blocking up front.”

O’Neal said his quarterback and son, Coltyn, had teammates around him to block and give him more time to throw. He said Coltyn also did well using his legs to extend plays.

“We want to get him out on the edge,” Kevin O’Neal said. “That way, he’s a threat to run the ball and throw the ball. He does a good job of throwing the ball on the run. When defenses try to adjust to him possibly running, he keeps his eyes downfield and finds open receivers.”

Coltyn O’Neal said he tries to secure the ball whenever he is asked to make things happen on offense. He and the other seniors have been in this offense for years, so they are confident they make things happen together.

“All of these skill positions just have such chemistry with all the hard work we put in the offseason,” Coltyn O’Neal said. “The coaching staff has trusted us this offseason to put the ball into more skill positions’ hands and spread the ball.”

Brandon Biggers and Liam Peck are also seniors who made catches for first downs. Coltyn O’Neal said he has played with the other seniors since third grade because they have “always loved football” and have pushed each other to improve. He added that the offense tries to establish the running game and has the dependable senior Galbreath, who O’Neal said is “a big dude” and is “hard to tackle in practice.”

“We’ve got several (senior receivers) and even the younger guys are stepping up like Levi Moore and Colton Moore,” Kevin O’Neal said. “It’s good having guys all over.”

North Callaway defeated Montgomery County for the third straight season, and those victories have been the Eastern Missouri Conference opener. Coltyn’s head coach and father, Kevin, said the goals for the team were still in front of them after last week’s loss, and the Thunderbirds could still repeat as conference champions. But first, they host Bowling Green (2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.

“It definitely gets us back on track,” Coltyn O’Neal said. “One of our coaches said it was a 24-hour rule. Even last week, if you lose, you got 24 hours to sob about it and get over it. If you win, you’ve got 24 hours to celebrate it and then it’s on to next week.”