KINGDOM CITY - North Callaway's dramatic first win of the season allowed head coach Kevin O'Neal to discover the level of investment for his Thunderbirds.
North Callaway (1-1) will look to build off last week's stirring 22-8 home win against Tipton when it travels to Bowling Green - also 1-1 - to begin Eastern Missouri Conference play tonight. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
The Thunderbirds rallied for 16 points late in the fourth quarter to jolt Tipton. Junior quarterback Milo Henry connected with sophomore tight end Adam Reno on fourth-and-7 for a 50-yard catch-and-run for the go-ahead score with 2 minutes, 12 seconds left in the game.
Junior linebacker J.T. Higgins then followed up by falling on a fumble by the Cardinals at their own 22-yard line. Higgins rewarded himself two plays later by scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run with :53 remaining to seal North Callaway's comeback.
"A first win is very important, especially for the confidence of the kids in changing (offensive and defensive) coordinators the way we have this year," O'Neal said Tuesday afternoon. "It helps the kids to buy in to our system and the things that we're doing, when they see some of the things that we've been teaching them have success out on the field.
"I've seen the confidence go up, I've seen them come together as a team a little bit more. ... It's a process that's going to take the whole year, but hopefully we're going to improve each week and continue to get some wins."
The Thunderbirds will encounter a Bowling Green squad tonight that was punished at Palmyra - ranked No. 3 in Class 2 - 52-0 last week.
The Bobcats, under first-year head coach James Marlock, run a spread offense guided by senior quarterback Jacob Feldmann. However, senior running back Kaeden Jenkins (6 foot, 187 pounds) is attracting the most concern from O'Neal.
"He has good field vision," O'Neal said. "When he gets in the open field, he has excellent speed."
O'Neal also believes the North Callaway secondary will face more throwing tonight from Bowling Green. Feldmann's primary pass-catcher is senior tight end Josh Early.
The Thunderbirds only allowed 84 yards passing against Tipton and junior cornerback A.J. Stubblefield came up with an interception.
"Those guys are going to get a lot of work this week in some skelly (skeleton) drills and we're going to make sure that we work on defending the pass," O'Neal said. "They've done a good job, they just haven't had to do it the last two Friday nights.
"They're going to have to do it this Friday night."
The Bobcats' 4-4 defense is powered by a pair of hulking tackles - senior Austin Pruitt and junior Gaven Comley. Bowling Green, though, was victimized for 332 yards rushing and six touchdowns by Palmyra, according to the Hannibal Courier-Post.
"(Pruitt and Comley) do a good job of eating up space," O'Neal said. "They're big, physical guys, so we're going to have to control the line of scrimmage. That's going to be our focus - making sure we get our (blocking) assignments down up front with our line."
North Callaway hammered out 209 yards rushing against Tipton. Higgins (20 carries) and Henry (19) accounted for most of that total by gaining 85 yards apiece.
The Thunderbirds' backfield will be strengthened tonight by the return of senior running back Tyler Mattes from a sprain to the medial collateral ligament in his knee. Mattes sat out the first two games but returned to practice Tuesday.
Mattes will be part of a rotation along with Higgins and junior running back Wyatt Branson. Mattes rushed for 281 yards (5.1 average) and a touchdown last year, while leading the Thunderbirds with 28 catches for 367 yards (13.1 average) and three scores.
"Tyler is a different type of runner than J.T. and Wyatt," O'Neal said. "Wyatt and J.T. are more power runners, very good downhill, run the ball hard - J.T., especially, the last two weeks.
"Tyler adds a little bit of that speed in there. He has good vision and when he gets one in the open field, he's going to be gone."
O'Neal added sophomore lineman Clark Zerr will miss the game with a knee injury. Zerr had an X-ray done Tuesday and was scheduled Wednesday to undergo an MRI.
North Callaway at Bowling Green - Updates on Twitter: @FultonSunSports
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