KINGDOM CITY - Ryan Kliethermes made a mad dash toward the end zone with time slipping away, the last symbol of North Callaway's inability to restrict the Eldon Mustangs' running game.
Eldon's senior quarterback scored off a bootleg from 10 yards out with 2 seconds to play Friday night, closing out a fourth-quarter comeback as the Mustangs jolted the Thunderbirds 36-28 in the season opener for both teams.
"We told (the defense) the boot was coming and our end was right there, and he (Kliethermes) just stopped and cut back, and found a scrambling lane," North Callaway head coach Mike Emmons said. "It's just one of those things."
Kliethermes' climactic touchdown topped off a 16-point rally over the final 12 minutes by the Mustangs, who trailed 22-6 in the second quarter. Eldon tied the game at 28-all on junior running back Logan Shinn's 3-yard touchdown run with 7:53 to play.