It's hard to fathom when North Callaway Thunderbirds head football coach Mike Emmons mentions the scarcity.
In his 22-plus seasons at North Callaway, Emmons has directed the Thunderbirds to nine appearances in the state playoffs. Incrediby, North Callaway owns just one conference title exclusively - from the 1999 season in the Eastern Missouri Conference - during Emmons' long tenure.
The Thunderbirds were also EMO tri-champions in 1994 and co-champions in 1998.
"It is (hard to believe)," Emmons said Tuesday morning of the lone conference title. "We just haven't had a lot of luck with that; we've always messed it up in some way."
North Callaway will try to rectify that matter tonight when it seeks to lock up the EMO title, all its own, with a visit to Clopton/Elsberry (kickoff at 7). The surging Thunderbirds - back in the conference after a six-year absence - can accomplish the objective with a clean sweep of their EMO foes this season.