KAHOKA - The Clark County Indians defense needed a quarter to figure out how to rein in North Callaway senior running back Adam Reno.
The Thunderbirds' defensive unit couldn't do the same with Clark County sophomore running back Caleb Lapsley.
Lapsley rushed for 219 yards and three touchdowns as the Indians pulled away for a 33-7 win over seventh-ranked North Callaway in the Class 2 quarterfinals Saturday afternoon.
The Thunderbirds twice had the ball inside Clark County's 10-yard line on two of their first three possessions but were unable to score, throwing an interception on one series and turning the ball over on downs on the second. North Callaway - which had won 11 straight coming into Saturday - ended its season with an 11-2 record.
The Indians (9-4), winners of eight in a row, will remain at home for a Class 3 semifinal clash with unbeaten Lafayette County next Saturday. Lafayette County (13-0) advanced with a 34-14 quarterfinal victory over Holden on Friday night.
"I thought we moved the ball well early on in the game - we did not finish drives," Thunderbirds head coach Kevin O'Neal said. "Little execution mistakes, things like that and against a good team like Clark County, that's going to hurt you."
Reno had seven of North Callaway's eight carries on the game's opening possession as the Thunderbirds reached Clark County's 5-yard line. However, after Reno was tackled for a 4-yard loss, sophomore quarterback Tully Thomsen was picked off on third down at the goal line by Indians senior defensive back Zeb Riney.
North Callaway then moved to Clark County's 6-yard line on its third series late in the first quarter, but an illegal-procedure penalty pushed the Thunderbirds back. North Callaway appeared to score on the first play of the second quarter on a Thomsen 10-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Austin Edwards, but the play was negated by a holding call.
Three plays later on fourth-and-goal from the Indians' 10, junior running back Jordan Delashmutt picked up just 1 yard and Clark County took possession.
Reno battered the Indians on North Callaway's first three series, accumulating 73 yards rushing. Clark County, though, made some defensive modifications in limiting him to 56 yards after that.
Reno finished with 129 yards in 26 carries. The Thunderbirds managed just a meager 2 yards of total offense in the second quarter after putting up 85 yards in the first 12 minutes, ending up with 260 yards for the game.
Thomsen completed only 6-of-16 passes for 54 yards and was intercepted three times.
"(Clark County) is probably the best defense that we've seen all year," O'Neal said. "They had a great plan and we didn't quite execute up to par. They had some stunts on the outside that we weren't picking up very well, a couple of things that we didn't see on film that they had ready to go.
"They were rallying to the football, getting everybody they could to Adam Reno. He ran the ball hard and did what he could."
Lapsley, who had only one carry in the first quarter, made an immediate impact when the Indians took over on downs. On the first play, Lapsley darted 90 yards for a touchdown to jolt North Callaway and put Clark County on the scoreboard with 10 minutes, 46 seconds left in the second quarter.
After a three-and out by the Thunderbirds, Lapsley put the Indians up 14-0 on a 28-yard touchdown run at the 7:48 mark. Lapsley added his third score on a 2-yard run with 9:06 to go in the third quarter, capping off a nine-play, 58-yard drive.
"Our (run) fits were a little bit off - their line did a good job of getting to our linebackers," O'Neal said. "(Lapsley) just runs hard - that whole team, every one of them, he's not the only one. They're a good team, they play football hard."
North Callaway had an opportunity to keep it a two-score game heading into halftime. However, Clark County junior quarterback London Brunk connected with Riney on a 5-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with :04 left to give the Indians a 21-0 edge at the break.
"They made plays when they had to and we missed a couple of tackles here and there, and that's the way the game goes," O'Neal said.
The Thunderbirds avoided being shut out when Reno scored on a 4-yard run with 7:37 remaining in the game. Reno punctuated a spectacular high school career with a school-record 2,132 yards and 32 touchdowns this season.
"He's a special young man," O'Neal said. "The season he had wasn't by accident - he put a lot of work in, in the offseason, and was dedicated to this program and his teammates.
"He'll be the first one to tell you that the team helped him as much as anything else."
In addition to its first quarterfinal appearance since 2011 and a remarkable winning streak, North Callaway - which will lose 10 seniors - made a perfect run to an Eastern Missouri Conference title.
"It was a pretty special season, led by a special group of seniors," O'Neal said. "I'm proud of these guys. I know I've said it all year, but this is a special group that got Thunderbird football back to where we want it to be.
"What we do in the future is because of the work that they put in to get us to where we are right now."
Ryan Boland can be reached at (573) 826-2422, or on Twitter @FultonSunSports.