North Callaway has several dimensions in its offense.

North Callaway vs Van-Far Photo Gallery

The Thunderbirds redeemed themselves from a loss a season ago to Eastern Missouri Conference foe Van-Far with a 42-22 victory on Senior Night and did so against a team ranked sixth in Class 1. North Callaway amassed 326 rushing yards including 187 and two touchdowns on 24 carries by sophomore Jaiden Galbreath, who became a 1,000-yard rusher for the season.

Head coach Kevin O’Neal said he is proud of how well his team played for its seniors as all of North Callaway’s offense and scoring from other classes. Sophomore Collin Moore added 101 yards on 14 carries and a 14-yard touchdown catch, sophomore Coltyn O’Neal threw for 77 yards and two touchdowns on 7-for-11 passing, and junior Wyatt Haden ran for a touchdown and recovered a fumble in the endzone.

“Offensively, coach (Jacob) Haubner did a great job mixing and matching and doing a lot of things,” O’Neal said. “Collin had a big night, Jaiden had his tough runs in between the tackles like Jaiden does, (senior) Carter Moore came up with a couple big catches, (sophomore) Tristan Petty with a touchdown catch, and Wyatt Haden with a couple long runs. It’s good to spread the ball around with everybody having fun.”

O’Neal said North Callaway (7-1) was able to break free after a “turning point” in the first half. Van-Far (6-2) took a 16-14 lead on a 43-yard run by Tyson Douglas, but the Thunderbirds scored 14 points with a little more than three minutes left in the first half. Haden broke a tackle, spinning into the endzone for a 34-yard run and Collin Moore caught a 19-yard touchdown on the next drive.

That next drive happened immediately following a muffed kickoff return by Van-Far, who allowed the kick to bounce over and off a player before being recovered by Brandon Biggers. The Indians had to surmount a two-possession lead all of a sudden.

“We’d gone back-and-forth in that first quarter,” O’Neal said. “Recovering that kickoff and putting it in the endzone, that was huge for us. We scored on every drive in the first half except that last seven seconds where we threw it up (for an interception).”

O’Neal has been impressed all season with Galbreath’s production, which has been at least 100 rushing yards almost every week, and even more so since this is his first year at the position. He said Galbreath is in charge of those “tough yards” between the tackles.

Galbreath said the Thunderbirds were all “playing for Wyatt,” or cancer victim Wyatt Salmons from four years ago. Salmons’ number 76 was brought out with the other seniors during the ceremony since he would have been a senior this season. He said everyone was especially motivated, which helped him eclipse 1,000 yards.

“The first year was pretty good,” Galbreath said while talking about his first season at running back. “We have some improvement to do. We’re going to come out and finish off this year, hoping to be district champions, and come out next year and beat all the records they have at running back.”

Collin Moore has been a steady presence the last three games for North Callaway as an edge runner. Moore was over 50 yards two weeks prior and then had two straight 100-yard days.

Moore admitted the offense had a slow start partly due to injuries on the line, including senior guard Casper Safranski. Juniors Zac Craghead and Ben Haubner have “been working a lot these past few weeks,” so Moore gives those players a lot of credit for his success.

“It takes a lot of vision with our offense,” Moore said while describing success as an edge runner. “Running with the guards so you just have to feel it out. It’s lots of work in practice and lots of work after practice with the guards. Zac and Ben have been working all year. You’ve got to love them.”

Moore likes how North Callaway “never let up” and finally reached 40 points as it wanted to all season. He said the offense is in a better position now during a four-game winning streak than when it started.

O’Neal’s son at quarterback, Coltyn, made a habit of rolling out in either direction and hitting his receivers. Those types of plays resulted in both O’Neal’s touchdown passes and two completions for 27 yards to the senior Carter Moore and gave the Thunderbirds yet another offensive dimension.

“He does a good job of the play fakes, and that’s what opens up the receivers,” O’Neal said. “He gets out on the edge, and our offensive line does a good job of blocking for him. He gets time and those guys get open, and he’s going to put the ball on them.”

After a dagger in the form of Haden’s fumble recovery in the end zone with eight minutes left in the game following a big hit by Haubner, O’Neal said the growth needs to continue against a tough Wright City at 7 p.m. Friday for the regular season finale before the Thunderbirds dive into their tough district. Six of the seven teams in Class 2 District 3 have at least five wins and two have seven wins.

“We’ve grown throughout the year, and I think we need to continue to grow,” O’Neal said. “We played one of our best games tonight against a very good Van-Far opponent.”