After last year’s loss to Louisiana and this year’s meeting being Homecoming, North Callaway wanted to hit the ground running.

The Thunderbirds were held under 200 yards rushing the past two weeks but surpassed that threshold in a 38-14 Homecoming victory over Louisiana. North Callaway (5-1) ran for 248 yards on 41 carries to redeem itself for a 31-14 loss last season to the Eastern Missouri Conference foe.

Head coach Kevin O’Neal said Jaiden Galbreath led the effort once again with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. However, the efforts of others running to the outside supported him and the whole team. For example, Collin Moore finished with 54 yards on 10 carries.

“We were able to get some runs on the outside going with our sweep,” O’Neal said. “That helped open up the inside with Jaiden a little bit too. Being able to run outside a little more this week was a big factor in helping our offense get going.”

North Callaway scored in every quarter, building a 22-6 halftime lead over Louisiana (0-6). O’Neal said the execution and physical play at the line was there all game for the Thunderbirds.

O’Neal said being able to run well outside was not just a focus for this week but will be key for the rest of the season. The last two weeks, Galbreath has been limited compared to the rest of the season and that resulted in a loss and a tight 18-12 victory at Palmyra. Coltyn O’Neal throwing for 105 yards on 8-for-13 passing, including a 20-yard touchdown to Nick Threlkeld, gave Louisiana’s defense more to think about.

“We were able to mix in our plays and do a lot of different things offensively besides just Jaiden,” O’Neal said.

North Callaway’s defense held its fifth team to less than 20 points with the only outlier being the 50 points allowed to Class 2 No. 2 Bowling Green. Tristan Petty and Clayton Moore each had eight tackles, with Moore recording two tackles for loss, and sacks came from Collin Moore and Zac Craghead.

“Their first drive of the game, they had a facemask penalty for 15 yards and then we had another penalty for 15 yards,” O’Neal said. “30 of their yards on that drive came from penalties. Defensively, we played very well tonight. It’s that unit as a whole.”

O’Neal is aware conference foe Mark Twain (1-5) can’t be overlooked before North Callaway’s road game at 7 p.m. Friday. The Tigers’ five losses include two by four points or less and one by 14 points.

“They’re big up front and going to be physical,” O’Neal said. “It’s going to be a challenge for offensive and defensive lines. We’re going to have our work cut out for us up front.”