MOKANE - The North Callaway Thunderbirds took back the Callaway Cup trophy after a seven-year absence with a stirring 33-29 victory in the final minute last season in Kingdom City.
The South Callaway Bulldogs reciprocated on their home field Friday night, regaining the prize and raising the bar for breathtaking finishes in the rivalry series.
South Callaway stopped North Callaway's two-point conversion attempt in overtime as the Bulldogs survived for an exhilarating 33-32 Eastern Missouri Conference win over the Thunderbirds to end the regular season.
South Callaway narrowed the gap in the series to 13-8 and Friday night marked the first time the Callaway rivals decided the outcome in overtime.
"This is the epitome of a rivalry game," Bulldogs head coach Zack Hess said. "You talk about going into this game you can throw the records out - it doesn't matter if one team's undefeated and the other team hasn't won a game.
"Both teams are going to give it their best shot. When you get two evenly matched teams, this is the type of game that you would get."
South Callaway (8-1) - which had already wrapped up the EMO title - was seemingly in control at halftime Friday night. Senior kicker Tyklen Salmons lined a 43-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired, sending the Bulldogs into the break with a comfortable 26-6 lead.
North Callaway, though, blocked Salmons' 40-yard field goal attempt on the opening possession of the second half and the play galvanized the Thunderbirds (6-3), who scored twice in the third quarter to close within eight points.
Senior running back Jordan Delashmutt then scored from 1 yard out on fourth down with 48 seconds to play in regulation. Junior quarterback Jadon Henry added the two-point conversion on a run, allowing North Callaway to pull even at 26-all and force overtime.
The Thunderbirds won the coin toss in the extra period but deferred. Getting the ball at the 25-yard line, South Callaway used four plays to go back in front on senior quarterback Peyton Leeper's 6-yard touchdown run on third-and-3.
Salmons delivered the extra point to give the Bulldogs a 33-26 edge.
North Callaway answered instantly on the first play of its overtime possession. Sophomore running back Cody Cash made a leaping grab of Henry's pass just inside the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown to bring the Thunderbirds within a point.
North Callaway then opted to go for two and the dramatic win. However, senior running back Dakota Brush was engulfed by a mass of South Callaway defenders short of the goal line, snuffing out the Thunderbirds' hopes and setting off a delirious celebration by the Bulldogs and their fans.
"I think it says a lot about the kids," Hess said. "There were a lot of opportunities there in the second half to just get their heads down and fold, and they didn't. They hung together when things were looking bad. (North Callaway) had the momentum for a large portion of the second half.
"To score that touchdown there in overtime and then the game-saving, two-point defense - that was big. I just can't say enough about that group finishing the game. That's what it boils down to, just finishing."
Thunderbirds head coach Kevin O'Neal explained that there was no hesitation, no debate about attempting the two-point conversion.
"Our kids wanted to do that, more than anything," O'Neal said. "I already had my mind made up that that's what we were going to do if we scored there, we were going to go for the win.
"I couldn't be more proud of a group of young men, the way we came out and responded in the second half after not playing real well in the first half."
After blocking Salmons' field goal attempt early in the third quarter, North Callaway recovered the ball at its own 45. Seven plays later, Henry connected with senior wide receiver Chet Cunningham on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 5 minutes, 21 seconds left in the quarter.
The Thunderbirds trailed 26-12 after failing on the two-point conversion attempt.
South Callaway - which scored on five of its six first-half possessions - went three-and-out on its ensuing series. North Callaway quickly countered on its second play with a 78-yard touchdown run from Delashmutt to suddenly make it a one-score game with 2:20 to go in the quarter.
The Bulldogs appeared to be moving toward a game-clinching score midway through the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-2, Leeper gained 5 yards for a first down at the Thunderbirds' 29.
On the next play, though, Brush - from his defensive end position - picked off a Leeper pass in the flat and returned it to the South Callaway 43. Leeper returned the favor three plays later from his strong safety spot by intercepting Henry's pass.
However, the Bulldogs were called for roughing the passer, giving North Callaway a first down at the South Callaway 24. The Bulldogs then tackled Delashmutt for a 5-yard loss on fourth down, but were whistled for a facemask call.
"That is super-tough because you get your hopes up that you made a play, and then it turns out that we have to do it again," Hess said of the penalties.
Still facing a fourth-and-2, the Thunderbirds picked up a first down on Delashmutt's 6-yard gain to the South Callaway 10. Four plays later, Delashmutt hurled himself into the end zone from 1 yard out with less than a minute to play and Henry squeezed his way across the goal line for the two-point conversion to tie the game.
"It's what I've been looking for out of this team," O'Neal said. " It was just a team effort, led by Jordan Delashmutt. That young man is a leader on this team. He wanted the ball, he couldn't hardly walk, but he wanted to carry the football.
"It was just a belief in each other - that's something that we've been stressing and maybe we've been lacking for the last couple of weeks. We talked about it at halftime, playing for each other - 'I don't care what the scoreboard says, you come out and you play Thunderbird football as hard as you can' - and I think our kids responded in the second half."
South Callaway - winners of eight in a row - locked up the No. 2 seed in Class 2, District 5 with 43.92 points and will host a quarterfinal game this week against No. 7 seed Hallsville. The Indians (3-6) won at Versailles 34-29 on Friday night.
"We don't want to let this (rivalry) game define our season," Hess said. "We're happy about the outcome of the game, but we've got to move on. Sometimes when you put so much energy and so much into one game, it's easy to have a letdown.
"We can't afford one now. We've just got to turn the page and start preparing for a one-and-done situation, a playoff situation. We want to extend the season out as long as we can."
North Callaway - which has now lost three straight - is the third seed in District 5 with 40.58 points and will get a quarterfinal home game this week against a familiar foe, No. 6 seed Montgomery County. The Wildcats (5-4) outlasted Clopton/Elsberry in a 58-56 EMO shootout Friday night in Montgomery City.
The Thunderbirds will definitely be seeking redemption after bowing at Montgomery County in a 40-34 EMO loss Oct. 5.
"It's an opportunity for us," O'Neal said. "Football is an amazing sport because it teaches you about life lessons and we're going to learn some life lessons this week in how we respond and how we come out and play."