KINGDOM CITY, Mo. - The North Callaway Thunderbirds don't want to make this same trip again, seven days from now.
With that in mind, a district first-round home game will be on the line tonight when North Callaway ends the regular season with a visit to Eastern Missouri Conference opponent Van-Far. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
The Thunderbirds are 3-5 on the season and 2-4 in the EMO, coming off a 42-28 home loss to Wright City last week when the Wildcats scored 20 unanswered points in the final 7:11. The Indians are 4-4 and also 2-4 in conference play after a 28-12 victory at home against Clopton/Elsberry.
More significantly, North Callaway is in fifth place in the Class 2 District 6 standings with 29.55 points and Van-Far occupies fourth with 33.33. Bowling Green (5-3) is in third place in front of the Indians with 35.18 points, while Highland (2-6) follows the Thunderbirds in sixth with 23.33.
The top four teams will host district first-round matchups.
No matter the outcome tonight but with the location still at stake, North Callaway and Van-Far appear to be headed toward another clash next week.
"That's the biggest thing we've talked about - this week's game determines whether we play at home or away next week," Thunderbirds head coach Kevin O'Neal said. "The discussions with those seniors - they've got two guaranteed games left and we've got to have great practices for two weeks and finish the season on a high note.
"I think we're capable of doing that, as long as those guys work hard."
North Callaway will need to tighten up a defense that has allowed 79 points in the past two games, including 466 yards passing and five touchdowns. Wright City senior quarterback Andrew Pfuhl completed just 8-of-20 passes last week against the Thunderbirds, but threw for 164 yards and two scores with no interceptions.
Van-Far quarterback Parker Wallace - a 5-foot-8, 150-pound sophomore - is 56-of-99 passing (57 percent) this season for 647 yards, 13 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Wallace threw for 211 yards and four scores in the Indians' 34-32 EMO home loss Sept. 11 to South Callaway.
Wallace's main target that night was senior wide receiver Nick Barnes (6-2, 160), who finished with eight catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns. In seven games, Barnes has 18 receptions for 289 yards (16.1 average) and seven scores.
Fellow senior wide receiver Jamie Householder (5-8, 160) also has 20 catches for 243 yards (12.2 average) and three touchdowns.
"They do a good job of trying the get the ball to their playmakers out in space," O'Neal said. "They will use a lot of different formations to do that, a lot of different motions and shifts, to try and confuse you defensively.
"We just have to make sure that we're fundamentally sound and we're in the right spots, and understand the situations in games."
North Callaway compiled 284 yards of total offense against Wright City, but committed three turnovers. Junior quarterback Milo Henry completed 11-of-23 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for a score. Junior running back J.T. Higgins picked up a game-high 74 yards on 20 carries and had a 4-yard touchdown run.
Senior running back Tyler Mattes also gained 52 yards in 13 attempts and scored on a 5-yard run. Junior wide receiver A.J. Stubblefield finished with three catches for 41 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass from Henry.
The Thunderbirds were already playing without sophomore tight end Adam Reno, who broke his collarbone two weeks ago against Clopton/Elsberry and is out for the rest of the season. Junior running back Wyatt Branson - who is dealing with turf toe - only played on defense last week.
O'Neal was still unsure about Branson's offensive status tonight.
"We did some good things (against Wright City)," O'Neal said. "The offensive line really played well, I thought. We were down our two biggest playmakers and we still scored 28 points."
North Callaway will encounter a Van-Far defense that logged a pair of shutouts to start the season but has allowed an average of 31.3 points in the last six games.
"They're going to be in a lot of different defensive fronts," O'Neal said. "I think they try to anticipate what play you're going to run and shift their front that way.
"They do a lot of weird shifts with their defensive linemen. We have to make sure no matter what we see up front that we are getting on guys as an offensive line, blocking guys and moving them off the line of scrimmage and creating those holes for the running backs."
North Callaway at Van-Far - Updates on Twitter: @FultonSunSports
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