North Callaway’s offense has been fast and furious all season, and the whole team seemed to be that way Friday night.
The No. 3 seed Thunderbirds defeated No. 7 seed California 60-18 in a …
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North Callaway’s offense has been fast and furious all season, and the whole team seemed to be that way Friday night.
The No. 3 seed Thunderbirds defeated No. 7 seed California 60-18 in a Class 2 District 5 tournament semifinal game in Kingdom City. They won their sixth straight game, secured their ninth straight 50-point game, and most importantly, their first district title game since 2020.
“Our guys all put in the same work as each other,” said senior Tristan Petty, who had seven catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns. “We all push each other to be the best we could possibly be. When all 11 guys are going hard, it’s pretty hard to stop us.”
After California (3-8) upset No. 2 seed Father Tolton 18-13, head coach Kevin O’Neal said he wanted his team to be aggressive and build a big lead early. North Callaway (9-2) led 41-6 at halftime.
“We know California is a physical team,” O’Neal said “We knew they were going to come out in the second half and try to put some things together. To be a championship team and play in a district championship game, you have to do things right all the time. I challenged my guys to keep going and keep executing.”
The Thunderbirds scored a touchdown on their first drive after turning every drive into a touchdown against Versailles in a previous game. They lost a fumble on their next drive but forced California to give the ball back via fumble and North Callaway eventually scored off that mistake.
“We talked about, before the game, that emotions are high when you get into playoff football,” O’Neal said. “I told them that adversity is going to happen at some point in this game, and that was that fumble early on – something we haven’t done a lot this year. To watch our defense respond and get the ball back for us, that was huge.”
North Callaway’s defense factored into building that halftime lead. Brandon Biggers recovered that fumble after falling on an earlier ball that the officials ruled an incomplete pass.
Petty also made a key defensive play just after catching a 49-yard touchdown pass by Coltyn O’Neal. Aiden Wimmer pressured California quarterback Koleman Friedrickson, and Petty intercepted the pass before returning it 39 yards for a touchdown, making it 34-0.
“I didn’t really see that one coming,” Petty said. “The ball was in my hands, and I had guys blocking for me, so we ran with it. I was on my guy, and I turned around to get in my coverage and the ball was out. I saw it and knew I had to make a play. I wouldn’t have made it through all those guys without (my blockers).”
Kevin O’Neal said North Callaway has had its defensive struggles this season, since losing 84-50 at Palmyra. That was the second straight shootout for the Thunderbirds after they defeated Bowling Green 76-54 at home. Since the Palmyra game, North Callaway hasn’t allowed more than 22 points in a game, averaging 16.8 points per game.
The Thunderbirds had a challenge going in against the dual-threat quarterback Friedrickson, who transferred in from Smith-Cotton. He showed off his arm and legs by completing a 35-yard pass and then running in a seven-yard touchdown before halftime. The defense managed to record three tackles for loss against California.
“Defensively, we’ve been a little bit shaky trying to bring the defense along,” O’Neal said. “Tonight, our defense is the defense that I’ve expected all year. We just want to be physical and fast. Part of that is film study and understanding what their job is. Understanding how they’re supposed to execute allows them to play a lot faster. Throughout the year, we’ve been overthinking sometimes.”
The offense kept rolling as Jaiden Galbreath ran for 148 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries, Collin Moore ran for 85 yards and one touchdown on nine carries, and Coltyn O'Neal threw for 248 yards and four touchdowns on 15-for-18 passing and added a rushing touchdown.
Petty was the deep threat by having four receiving plays of at least 20 yards. His second touchdown was a 17-yard strike to the end zone. He said he is having the most run in this year’s offense, and he and Coltyn O’Neal were clicking.
“Playing with Coltyn since my sophomore year, when I got my first start, and over the offseason and summer stuff, we have that connection going for us,” Petty said. “I’m just glad we can put it into a game and show what me and him could do.”
The district’s No. 1 seed and state No. 4 Blair Oaks (9-1) defeated South Callaway 49-7, which means North Callaway has to go through the reigning two-time state champion for its first district championship since 2017. Kevin O’Neal said North Callaway has to avoid mistakes as much as possible and play much better special teams than when it allowed back-to-back kickoff return touchdowns against California.
“You can’t take plays off against a great program like Blair Oaks,” O’Neal said. “To be in that game and to challenge those guys, we’re going to have to execute at a high level in every phase of the game. Special teams, we’ve got to clean some things up. Offensively, we can’t turn the ball over. Defensively, we have to continue to play fast.”
