KINGDOM CITY, Mo. - North Callaway head coach Kevin O'Neal wants to see his Thunderbirds exclude the ebbs and fixate on finding more of a smooth, stable flow.
North Callaway has alternated wins and losses through the first four weeks of the season and will take a 2-2 overall record and 1-1 Eastern Missouri Conference mark into tonight's Homecoming encounter against conference opponent Mark Twain, also 2-2 and 1-1. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The Thunderbirds will be looking to build off a 27-23 EMO win at rival Montgomery County last week. North Callaway wiped out a nine-point halftime deficit by tallying 13 unanswered points in the second half. Senior quarterback Cole Branson delivered the decisive score on a 14-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 5:07 remaining in the game.
"As our win-loss record kind of shows and our play on the field, we've been inconsistent," Thunderbirds head coach Kevin O'Neal said Tuesday afternoon. "We really want to work on that consistency, especially getting ready for the second half of the season and going into districts.
"If we come out and play consistent football the way we need to play, we can compete with whoever we play."
North Callaway's running game appeared to round into form last week when it accumulated a season-high 222 yards. Junior wide receiver Tyler Mattes picked up a team-high 102 yards on 21 carries and sophomore running back J.T. Higgins gained 90 yards in 19 attempts and scored on a 2-yard run.
"It was just hard-nosed running," O'Neal said. "We challenged the offensive line at halftime to step up and open up holes for those guys and stay on blocks, and those guys to run the ball hard and eat up clock. That's what we did in the second half."
Mark Twain - which is in its first season as an EMO member - also found itself back at the .500 mark after an 18-12 conference loss at Clopton/Elsberry last week.
"Clopton came up with a couple of big plays in the passing game," O'Neal said. "It was kind of a back-and-forth game and nobody could really get into a rhythm with anything."
The Thunderbirds will try to maintain their success on the ground against the Tigers' 3-4 defense.
"It's the old football cliche - controlling the line of scrimmage," O'Neal said. "With their defensive line getting off the ball as well as they do, we have to make sure that we're not getting driven back into the backfield, that we're moving them in the direction we want them to move."
Meanwhile, North Callaway's defense did its part in helping spark last week's second-half comeback. The Thunderbirds limited Montgomery County to just 10 yards of total offense and no first downs during the final 24 minutes.
"We talked about some techniques there with our defensive backs defending the pass, and how we could defend that a little bit better, at halftime," O'Neal said. "Coach (Ronnie) Kimbley did a good job of discussing that with those guys.
"And again, we had solid play from our linebackers - (seniors) Michael Pezold and Trevor Crisp. They are just consistent."
While running the football is firmly entrenched at North Callaway, O'Neal stressed it's no mystery Mark Twain likes to do the same out of its I-formation, double-tight end sets. Tyler Ellege, a junior, is the Tigers' featured back.
"Mark Twain's a team that's going to line it up and run it at you," O'Neal said. "That's the type of football they play, football that we're used to around North Callaway - kind of what (former head coach) Mike (Emmons) used to do.
"They're going to line it up and they're not too fancy about what they do, and they're going to try to run you over."
While the Thunderbirds' defense will concentrate on stuffing running lanes for Mark Twain, O'Neal explained the unit can't overlook the rare opportunities when the Tigers will throw the ball.
"We have to make sure we control the line of scrimmage and we're assignment-oriented," O'Neal said. "As much as they do like to run the ball, every once in a while they'll play-action and hit a tight end down the seam. We've got to make sure our guys are not falling asleep on that."