North Callaway went into Friday night’s district home game averaging more than 40 points per game but struggled offensively at home.
The Thunderbirds couldn’t find the end zone in …
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North Callaway went into Friday night’s district home game averaging more than 40 points per game but struggled offensively at home.
The Thunderbirds couldn’t find the end zone in the second half in their 38-6 loss to Father Tolton (7-3) in the Class 2 District 5 playoffs in Kingdom City. North Callaway loses to Tolton this time after beating the Trailblazers 38-28 on the road in the postseason three years ago.
North Callaway scored first on a rushing touchdown by Jaiden Galbreath but then Tolton quarterback Dominik Abadi answered with two rushing touchdowns, including one with five seconds left in the first half to follow a North Callaway interception. Tolton took a 14-6 halftime lead and didn’t look back.
“We just had trouble moving the ball offensively and finding any consistency there,” head coach Kevin O’Neal said. “They did a great job of playing aggressively.”
North Callaway found consistency at first with Galbreath and his 80 rushing yards in the first half. However, he finished with 119 yards on 31 carries to go along with his leading five tackles and two tackles for loss on defense.
O’Neal said North Callaway found success with its best offense since its 2017 state quarterfinal team by spreading the ball around. The Thunderbirds’ four other rushers combined for 88 yards on 23 carries against Tolton’s physical front that focused on Galbreath in the second half.
“They played bigger schools throughout the year so they had that physicality coming into the game,” O’Neal said. “They played very well on the edge so we couldn’t get our outside run game going. We tried a couple jet sweeps and some buck sweeps. They just played sound defensively.”
Tolton scored on its first four drives of the second half. Abadi accounted for 277 total yards and five touchdowns – three rushing – while North Callaway had 258 yards.
North Callaway allowed a touchdown after another interception and lost a fumble after driving deep into Tolton territory again. On top of a touchdown pass that ricocheted off a diving North Callaway defender, O’Neal said North Callaway wasn’t finishing drives while Tolton took advantage.
“When you play a good team and get into playoff football in a good district like we’re in, little things are going to pile up,” O’Neal said. “Turnovers hurt us and we had trouble controlling the line of scrimmage. They made plays when they had to.”
North Callaway’s five seniors led the group to the team’s second straight eight-win season, which included the program’s first Eastern Missouri Conference championship since 2017. The Thunderbirds won the championship outright with an undefeated conference season, and O’Neal said that will stand forever.
“There was good leadership throughout the year,” O’Neal said. “They were five guys that worked hard every practice, led this team, never gave up and were great role models for the younger guys.”
