North Callaway gave Macon trouble on both sides of the ball.

North Callaway vs Macon Photo Gallery

The Thunderbirds won their home opener on Friday against Macon 18-7, led by 161 rushing yards and two sacks by Jaiden Galbreath and 10 tackles and a touchdown catch by Wyatt Haden. Macon’s losing streak was extended to 13 games after accumulating 81 total offensive yards.

Head coach Kevin O’Neal said North Callaway has multiple players that can stand out on both sides of the ball like Galbreath and Haden but also Collin Moore and Clayton Moore are capable. Galbreath ran for a 46-yard touchdown to put the Thunderbirds’ halftime lead at 18-0 and had 113 yards on the ground at halftime.

“Jaiden is a physical runner that runs downhill,” O’Neal said. “He’s going to get all those tough yards.”

O’Neal mentioned that Haden had some tough runs, going for 46 yards on seven carries. His ability on both sides of the ball was most evident during the second quarter.

Haden forced a fumble that turned into a North Callaway offensive drive that was capped by a leaping 35-yard touchdown catch by Haden. Coltyn O’Neal threw for two touchdowns and found Haden right down the middle of the field for the 12-0 North Callaway lead.

“There’s a reason why Wyatt Haden is one of our captains as a junior,” O’Neal said. “He is a kid that works incredibly hard and is very intelligent. He makes the most of every opportunity he has.”

O’Neal said Haden is aware how more reliant North Callaway is on the run in its offense so to make an outstanding catch among the limited passing attempts is amazing. Carter Moore, who typically is in the trenches blocking as a tight end, even took a trip to the end zone on an eight-yard touchdown catch following a fumbled Macon punt.

“Carter has been working his tail off at tight end blocking for us,” O’Neal said. “It’s awesome to see him get a catch for a touchdown.”

O’Neal said Macon adjusted to North Callaway’s offense in the second half, but Galbreath has made that job difficult through two games this season. Galbreath was close to rushing for 200 yards last week and was yet again over 150 yards in another Thunderbird win.

These first two games were also Galbreath’s first games as a running back after primarily focusing on being a lineman. Galbreath is still doing a good job as a defensive lineman too, recording five tackles along with his two sacks, but was intent on doing the same at his new position.

“At the beginning of the offseason this year, they started talking about it,” Galbreath said about becoming a running back. “Then we started running it in practice, and they liked it.”

Whatever Galbreath did from the backfield, he said he was focused on holding on to the ball because he knew his fellow linemates would do their job for him. His experience as a lineman also made him fearless when it comes to contact, shown by the many defenders he runs over.

“Not usually,” Galbreath said about not being afraid of contact. “I try not to be. I was a lineman in years past and most of my football career.”

While Macon didn’t manage much on offense all night, the Tigers found success in the second half and scored their first points off the season with a rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Levi Vanatta and Macon broke through with some long runs going around the tackles, primarily to the left side.

“When we were playing well on defense, our guys were disciplined and doing what they were supposed to do, reading their keys,” O’Neal said. “They did a good job of putting a counter in and running that counter several times. It was not a huge adjustment but just talking to the linebackers about what they’re supposed to look at and who they’re supposed to read.”

O’Neal said freshman Donovan Seiling showed good effort at left guard in his first varsity start and has a good foundation to build on in coming weeks.

The Thunderbirds will see even better results if they can clean some things up like the penalties, for example. While both teams were hit hard by penalties, combining for 256 yards worth of them, North Callaway accounted for 186 yards.

“There’s a fine line because I want them to play with emotion and I want them to be physical,” O’Neal said. “Sometimes, we let our emotions get the best of us. We’ve got to learn where that line is and make sure we’re talking to our teammates. Controlling what we can control.”

North Callaway opens its Eastern Missouri Conference schedule at 7 p.m. Friday at home against Montgomery County (0-2), who lost 58-18 to Monroe City last week.