North Callaway football had more control in the trenches this week.
The Thunderbirds were solid on the offensive and defensive line in a 20-14 win at Macon on Friday.
Riley Humphrey …
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North Callaway football had more control in the trenches this week.
The Thunderbirds were solid on the offensive and defensive line in a 20-14 win at Macon on Friday.
Riley Humphrey benefitted from the offensive line as he ran for 159 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries and the Thunderbirds (1-1) had 202 yards on 47 carries as team, but head coach Kevin O’Neal said the defensive line along with rest of the unit made a difference on the multiple times Macon (0-2) had the ball in North Callaway territory.
“We made some plays when we had to,” O’Neal said. “Defensively, we gave up some big plays but did a great job in (our territory).”
Macon moved the ball to North Callaway’s side of the field four times, scoring touchdowns twice. Mickey Martie ran for a touchdown and had 80 yards on 14 carries, and Jace Terry threw for 190 yards and a touchdown on 17-of-27 passing.
Four passes from the Tigers went for more than 20 yards, but O’Neal said the Thunderbirds were able to stop them where it counted. Macon had 107 yards rushing on 26 attempts.
“All night we did a good job of stopping the run,” O’Neal said. “We just gave up some big pass plays in the middle of the field. Once the field was short and they had to run the ball, we did a good job shutting them down.”
O’Neal said the defense was a team effort as tackles were spread evenly, led by six tackles each from Humphrey, Lane Kimbley and Cooper Wortmann. Wyatt Haden had three tackles for loss out of the six total for the Thunderbirds.
“Our five guys up front did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage,” O’Neal said. “They’re just physical up front offensive and defensively on the line.”
Collin Moore came away with an interception and had 57 yards on three catches on offense. Kimbley finished with 99 yards on 6-for-13 passing.
North Callaway has a home game with South Callaway (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday to get better offensively.
“Our passing game is coming along,” O’Neal said. “As Lane Kimbley gets more comfortable at quarterback, I think we’re going to continue to improve on offense.”
