No. 10 North Callaway travels to Clopton/Elsberry

North Callaway defensive back Bradley Berry drives South Callaway wide receiver Jarrett Livengood to the ground after he makes a catch in the Thunderbirds' 33-29 win against the Bulldogs last Friday night in the annual Callaway Cup game in Kingdom City.
North Callaway defensive back Bradley Berry drives South Callaway wide receiver Jarrett Livengood to the ground after he makes a catch in the Thunderbirds' 33-29 win against the Bulldogs last Friday night in the annual Callaway Cup game in Kingdom City.

KINGDOM CITY, Mo. - North Callaway head coach Kevin O'Neal didn't need to wait long to put his Thunderbirds on notice.

North Callaway halted its seven-game losing streak in the Callaway Cup rivalry game in striking fashion last week with a 33-29 home victory against South Callaway, ranked at the time in Class 2. Sophomore quarterback Tully Thomsen produced the game-winner for the Thunderbirds on a 43-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Austin Edwards with :56 left in the game.

The dramatic triumph also drew attention this week from the media, which vaulted North Callaway into the Class 2 Missouri Media Rankings at No. 10. The Thunderbirds have packaged together three straight wins, raising their season record to 3-1 and their Eastern Missouri Conference mark to 2-0.

O'Neal will try to keep his squad's focus locked in on the next game on the schedule, which takes place tonight when North Callaway travels to Clopton/Elsberry for an EMO contest against the IndianHawks. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

"It was addressed from the get-go when we started practice this weekend," O'Neal said. "They came in for the meeting and we watched the film, and talked about things we need to improve on.

"We talked about how it was a big win Friday night, it's where we want to go with our program, and we have to make sure that we don't have any letdowns this week. You've got a target on your back after a big win and somebody's going to come and try to knock you off that pedestal."

While moving forward, O'Neal was still taking time to savor what the Thunderbirds achieved in their win against the Bulldogs.

"I wasn't surprised by Friday night," O'Neal said. "As a coach, you go into every game and you want your kids to think they can win. There's some games where, you know, you're not too sure, but you want them to give maximum effort.

"I really think this group of guys, with the leadership that we have from the seniors and the work ethic that they've shown throughout the year, it's a special group."

Clopton/Elsberry, meanwhile, has dropped two in a row, sliding to 2-2 on the season and 0-2 in the EMO. The IndianHawks bowed to conference foe Montgomery County in a 49-34 shootout last week at home.

The Thunderbirds will try to capitalize on a shaky Clopton/Elsberry defense that has surrendered an eye-popping combined 109 points in the last two games. O'Neal expects the IndianHawks to work out of a base 5-2 scheme, but explained they've also lined up in an even alignment.

"They do a lot of different things with their fronts. I'm guessing they're trying to confuse offenses and blocking schemes," O'Neal said. "They'll move those guys around quite a bit, they blitz a lot.

"They try to give you as many different looks as they can."

North Callaway rolled up 401 yards of total offense last week. Thomsen took a significant step in his development, throwing three touchdown passes, while senior running back Adam Reno gained 134 yards and supplied a 66-yard touchdown run.

"The challenge for our offensive line is making sure that we know what our assignments are and we're getting on the right people, and we continue to control the line of scrimmage," O'Neal said.

Stephen Talbert is no longer around to torment opposing defenses at quarterback for Clopton/Elsberry. Sophomore Shawn Yates has inherited that position, as well as Talbert's familiar No. 12, and is doing a commendable job as the IndianHawks' main offensive source.

Yates has completed less than 50 percent of his passes (41-of-100), but has thrown for 771 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. Senior Blake Kendall is Yates' top receiver with 13 catches for 388 yards (29.8 average) and six scores.

Yates also leads Clopton/Elsberry in rushing with 411 yards (6.0 average) and three touchdowns.

"He is their primary runner, they try to run the ball with him as much as they can," O'Neal said. "He's just a hard-nosed runner and he's good at finding holes and getting through them. He's got a pretty good arm, he throws a decent football.

"We're concerned about that. He's obviously the No. 1 guy that we have to stop defensively."

The Thunderbirds' defense allowed 387 total yards last week, but also responded with a pair of critical fourth-down stops to curb South Callaway's potent offense.

O'Neal stressed disrupting Yates' timing in the pocket will be important tonight.

"We've got to try and get pressure on the quarterback," O'Neal said. "Our guys up front are going to have to do a good job, that's where it starts, not giving him time to throw and sit back there in the pocket.

"He's definitely a runner, so we have to make sure we keep our lane integrity on the defensive line when we're rushing the passer. We've got to keep him in the pocket with the outside guys and make sure we're not getting pushed off our lanes on the inside."

Related media:

North Callaway Thunderbirds Football Podcast [Clopton/Elsberry preview, Sept. 15, 2017]