North Callaway has had its best start to a football season since a 6-0 start in 2018.

The Thunderbirds, though, hit a bump in the road with a 50-12 loss to Palmyra on Friday at home. They fell behind 14-0 at halftime, but the score spiraled as Palmyra (4-1) finished with 481 rushing yards compared to North Callaway’s 132 yards on the ground.

Head coach Kevin O’Neal said the fault can be spread all around with this lopsided loss for North Callaway (4-1).

“Palmyra just outplayed us tonight,” O’Neal said. “We weren’t very fundamentally sound, and they took advantage of the mistakes we made. They controlled the line of scrimmage, and we didn’t respond very well as players and as coaches.

O’Neal said Palmyra’s linemen weren’t really bigger than North Callaway’s but were more physical on Friday. When blocking schemes and other little tasks aren’t executed as well, he said this type of result can happen.

In North Callaway’s previous four games this season, the team finished with more than 300 total yards and more than 200 rushing yards. Both of those streaks ended against Palmyra, but Wyatt Haden was the leading rushing with 70 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. On defense, Nick Threlkeld led with 11 solo tackles.

“We have to be more intentional with our drills,” O’Neal said. “We have to make sure to focus on the little things. Footwork, hand placement and all of those things have to get better. We coaches have to make sure we don’t let those things slide.”

North Callaway (2-0 EMO) returns to Eastern Missouri Conference play at Louisiana (1-4, 0-3 EMO) at 7 p.m. Friday. O’Neal said one loss shouldn’t derail all the hopes North Callaway has for this season.

“It doesn’t take us away from goals we have for this year,” O’Neal said. “To win the conference and to compete in districts – all of those goals are still in place.”