The South Callaway Bulldogs have not been roughed up to this extent in a while, so head coach Zack Hess cautioned his players to not let it fester.
"It's a long season, we can't dwell on this," Hess said after South Callaway - ranked No. 7 in Class 2 and the state runner-up last season - was manhandled by Southern Boone in a humbling 48-0 blitz Friday night. "We've got to keep our heads up and keep working.
"We're going to be just fine. These guys take it really hard, because they're not used to losing. We have to remind them it's just a high school football game. ... Life is going to go on and we're just going to get back to work and try to get better, and not let this happen again."
The Bulldogs (1-1) were battered by the Eagles in every fashion Friday night. Senior quarterback Dane Bossert threw two touchdown passes and junior running back Tanner Smith accounted for three scores as Southern Boone rolled up 309 yards of total offense.
Meanwhile, the Eagles' defense limited South Callaway to 107 total yards as the Bulldogs were shut out for the first time in, well, a long time.
Southern Boone opened 0-6 in 2014 in Trent Tracy's first year as head coach, but the Eagles rebounded to win four of their last five games. Tracy has Southern Boone off to a 2-0 start this season as it has outscored its first two opponents by an emphatic 98-0 margin.
"That's a good football team," Hess said. "They just proved it. They're getting better and they have a lot of seniors, and they were ready to play us.
"For lack of a better term, we just got our butts kicked tonight - we did. They played more physical than we did, they wanted it more than we did and it showed."
Bossert completed 10-of-13 passes for 188 yards, including a 78-yard, catch-and-run touchdown strike to junior running back Colin Vaughan in the second quarter and a 5-yard scoring connection with senior wide receiver Gannon Mueller in the third quarter. Bossert also led the Eagles - who scored on their first four possessions of the game - with 53 yards rushing on only three carries.
Smith scored on runs of 7, 2 and 20 yards, logging 43 yards overall in eight attempts. Vaughn tallied four catches for 103 yards, also grabbing a 2-yard touchdown from junior backup QB Spencer Taggart in the fourth quarter.
Junior running back Cole Morris contributed Southern Boone's other score on a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
"They did a great job of attacking our defense in the flats," Hess said. "We said at the beginning of the week our outside, perimeter guys were going to have to have a great game.
"They just took advantage of the weakness in our defense, and they executed really well. We missed out on a lot of opportunities and we didn't tackle very well. We just didn't help ourselves."
The Bulldogs didn't do themselves any favors on the offensive side, either. South Callaway - after breaking out for a dazzling 549 yards rushing in its season opener - mustered just 106 yards on the ground Friday night. Fifteen offensive plays ended up in lost yardage for the Bulldogs.
South Callaway's best chance to score came on its first series of the game. Senior running back Cameron Richardson darted 51 yards to give the Bulldogs a first down at Southern Boone's 7-yard line. However, four straight running plays resulted in minus-10 yards and South Callaway turned the ball over on downs.
Richardson totalled 51 yards on only two carries and senior quarterback Ethan Livengood contributed 37 yards in nine attempts. Livengood was just 1-of-3 passing for 1 yard.
"Moreso, their defense just played really well," Hess said. "We knew they were big and physical, and a great defense coming in. ... We just didn't execute the way we normally do, or should."
South Callaway will finally get to play its home opener this week when it starts the Eastern Missouri Conference portion of its schedule against Clopton/Elsberry. The IndianHawks (1-1) hammered North Shelby 42-14 on Friday night.
"We're just going to look at the film and try to not repeat the same mistakes," Hess said. "We're just going to try to learn from it and get better."