KINGDOM CITY, Mo. - The genesis for the North Callaway Thunderbirds' recent run of success can partly be traced to a month's worth of detailed workouts.
North Callaway is riding a sizzling four-game winning streak and the Thunderbirds don't intend to slow down when they make a visit to neighboring rival Montgomery County tonight in an Eastern Missouri Conference game to close out the regular season. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
North Callaway improved to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the EMO by blowing past Bowling Green 50-14 at home last week.
Head coach Kevin O'Neal explained the Thunderbirds have made such noticeable strides by perfecting themselves in practice.
"Whenever they are doing a rep, whether it's team or whether it's an individual drill, we have high expectations for them during that rep - not allowing them to slack off and take any time off," O'Neal said Tuesday afternoon. "The kids have responded very well to that.
"We've really emphasized quality over quantity. We don't need to do tons of them (reps) if we do them the correct way every time we do them."
Such attention to the finer points is reflected in the results. North Callaway is averaging a stunning 45 points per game during its winning streak while allowing a meager 7.3 to opponents.
"Football is an emotional game, we talked about that Friday night," O'Neal said. "When you have that belief in yourself and that belief in your teammates, and you feed off of each other's emotions, it makes your team that much better.
"We're starting to play with each other a lot better, together as a unit, and it's exciting for me to see."
Montgomery County dropped to 2-6 on the season and 2-4 in the EMO after suffering its second loss in a row last week, 39-16 at Wright City. The Wildcats, who have dropped four of their last five, are averaging only 17.8 points per game.
Junior running back Corey Kroll (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) - who has also lined up at quarterback - is Montgomery County's do-it-all weapon. Kroll has rushed for a team-high 780 yards (5.1 average) and six touchdowns and also has nine catches for 279 yards (31.0 average) and four scores.
Wildcats senior quarterback Roman Bronaugh is 21-of-44 passing (48 percent) for five touchdowns and no interceptions this season.
"I haven't talked to (Montgomery County head) coach (John) Klekamp personally in a couple of weeks, but I know last week they were pretty banged up," O'Neal said. "They're a team that's going to come out and play football as hard as they can play, and being a little bit beat up, they've still got a couple of athletes that when they get in the open field, they can hurt you."
The Thunderbirds' defense punished Bowling Green last week, limiting the Bobcats to only 47 total yards and forcing two turnovers. Senior cornerback AJ Stubblefield returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown.
"This is another week where we have to make sure we're fundamentally sound," O'Neal said. "I think it's a great week for our guys up front to get even better.
"I was very pleased with the way they played Friday night and thought we improved on the defensive line. Montgomery County, with the offense that they run, it's going to be a test for us up front."
North Callaway, fueled by senior running back Wyatt Branson, amassed 449 yards of total offense last week. Branson was responsible for 248 total yards and four touchdowns, while senior quarterback Milo Henry was 12-of-21 passing for 195 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, and also ran for a pair of scores.
"I really like, skill-wise, what we have," O'Neal said. "I think those guys feed off of each other and again, they don't care who gets the yards. When it's their turn, they do the best they can and they make the plays that they can make."
Montgomery County's defense would appear to be an appealing matchup for the Thunderbirds. The Wildcats are surrendering 41 points per game.
"They like to try to keep everything in front of them," O'Neal said. "Their defensive backs play off (receivers) a little bit, they're going to make you execute, throw the ball underneath - they're not going to give up the deep pass.
"They try not to give up the big play."
O'Neal stressed the Thunderbirds will have to be ready for a steady variety of blitzes tonight from Montgomery County, something he said they struggled in picking up in the early going against Bowling Green.
North Callaway, with 41.49 points, would seem to have fourth place mostly sealed up in the Class 2 District 5 standings. Hallsville (4-4) is fifth with 33.86 points and plays Eldon (4-4) tonight.
The top four district seeds host first-round games Oct. 21.
"It's been awesome with this group," O'Neal said. "They're just focused on the next week, they're focused on getting better."
North Callaway at Montgomery County
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Preview podcast: North Callaway Thunderbirds Football Podcast [Montgomery County preview, Oct. 14, 2016]