The state-ranked South Callaway Bulldogs continue to push their effort to the extreme, and they have another crushing outcome as confirmation.
The North Callaway Thunderbirds - South Callaway's latest victim - can certainly attest.
The Bulldogs scored on seven of their eight first-half possessions and their defensive unit tallied two more touchdowns, both by senior linebacker Dylan Hare, as undefeated South Callaway slammed North Callaway 66-6 on Friday night in the annual Callaway Cup game.
The overwhelming victory was the Bulldogs' sixth in a row over the Thunderbirds, including five straight in the Callaway Cup series. South Callaway - ranked No. 3 in Class 2 - is now 6-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Eastern Missouri Conference.
"Our theme all week was optimal performance, oddly enough," Bulldogs head coach Tim Rulo said. "How can you perform optimally when you're really hyped because of a big game? You want to figure that out.
"I was really proud of our guys, because I felt like they came out and ... performed at that optimal level that we wanted. That's great to see and hopefully that bodes well for the future."
Meanwhile, the deflating loss stopped North Callaway's two-game winning streak. The Thunderbirds slipped back to the .500 mark at 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the EMO.
"Lots of credit to Coach Rulo," North Callaway head coach Kevin O'Neal said. "I think he's proven that - throughout the year - he's got his kids ready to play from the get-go, from snap No. 1.
"They came out and played hard, and we weren't ready to play from snap No. 1 - and it showed tonight. I'll take blame for that and we'll go back to work and get better."
Senior slot receiver Cory Hanger scored on three touchdown runs and senior quarterback Troy Hentges also ran for a pair of scores as South Callaway piled up 384 of its 423 net offensive yards in the first half.
Hanger's touchdown runs of 9, 39 and 15 yards all came in the second quarter, the latter occurring with 1 minute, 34 seconds to play in sending the Bulldogs into halftime with an insurmountable 63-0 advantage. He finished with 107 yards on only seven touches.
Hentges kick-started South Callaway's outburst just 37 seconds into the game when he raced 62 yards for a touchdown. He was also responsible for another long scoring run - this one covering 49 yards in the second quarter. Hentges produced a game-high 141 yards rushing on just eight carries as the Bulldogs gained 332 yards as a team.
Hentges complemented his running performance by completing 5-of-6 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. He paired up with senior slot receiver Mason Shoemaker for a 29-yard score on fourth down with 7:35 to go in the first quarter. Hentges then connected with senior wide receiver Luke Horstman on a 22-yard touchdown pass on the Bulldogs' next possession to make it 21-0 at the 4:32 mark.
Hentges' only blemish came when a batted ball was intercepted by North Callaway sophomore linebacker J.T. Higgins inside the Thunderbirds' 20-yard line with 2:04 remaining in the quarter.
"I felt like we were able to distribute the ball really well, we were able to run a wide variety of plays at them," Rulo said. "We kind of kept (North Callaway's defense) on their toes; it looked like they were really trying to sell out to stop the run game, to stop Cory Hanger, and it opened up some passing for us.
"When you're able to open it up and do so much more, that really means that everything's clicking."
The Bulldogs ultimately served up the knockout blow with a frenetic four-score flurry in the span of 42 seconds early in the second quarter. On North Callaway's first play after Hanger's 9-yard touchdown run at the 8:47 mark, Hare picked off a pass from senior quarterback Cole Branson in the right flat and ran it back 22 yards for a score.
Then on the opening play of the Thunderbirds' following possession, Hare stripped the ball from Higgins' hands and took the fumble 9 yards for another touchdown. Hare has four of the Bulldogs' seven defensive scores on the season.
South Callaway's defense victimized North Callaway again on the first play of its ensuing possession when Hentges - from his cornerback spot - recovered a fumble at the Bulldogs' 49-yard line. He then rewarded himself by scrambling for the long touchdown run with 8:05 to play in the half, punctuating the wild sequence and stretching South Callaway's lead to 49-0.
The Bulldogs' defense forced five turnovers, including the four in the first half that led to South Callaway scores. The Thunderbirds compiled 163 yards of total offense, 158 coming from their running game, but managed only 32 net yards in the first half.
North Callaway avoided a shutout in the third quarter on junior wide receiver Tyler Mattes' 75-yard touchdown run. Mattes finished with a team-high 84 yards on eight carries.
"(The defense) answered the bell," Rulo said. "They came out and played, in my mind, a very complete game."
South Callaway plays its final home game of the regular season this week against EMO foe Montgomery County. The Wildcats are 2-4 overall and 1-3 in conference play after logging their first EMO win of the season Friday night, 34-16 at home over Clopton/Elsberry.
North Callaway will look to regroup when it returns home this week to square off against Clopton/Elsberry (3-3, 1-3).
"We have to stay together as a team and not let this fracture us," O'Neal said. "There's a lot of things we can learn from this game and we need to get better as a team, and go back to work."
•Notes: South Callaway sits in second place in the Class 2, District 7 standings with 50.66 points, less than a point behind leader and No. 7-ranked Lafayette County (6-0, 51.5). Cole Camp is also unbeaten at 6-0 and is third behind the Bulldogs with 49.34 points.
North Callaway remains third in Class 2, District 6 with 33.66 points. The Thunderbirds are trying to hold off a pack of 3-3 teams right behind them - Clark County (31.66 points) in fourth place, Van-Far (31.16) fifth, and Clopton/Elsberry (30) sixth.