KINGDOM CITY - When it came to culpability for the North Callaway Thunderbirds' constant misfirings on offense, there was only one culprit - head coach Don Boulware.
Just ask him.
North Callaway wasted numerous scoring opportunities with the outcome at stake in the fourth quarter as the Thunderbirds bowed to the Wright City Wildcats in a 14-6 Eastern Missouri Conference loss Friday night.
North Callaway was also limited to a sparse 156 yards of total offense in having its two-game winning streak halted. The Thunderbirds slipped to the .500 mark at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the EMO.
"I think that's a game we all thought we would win, I think that's a game I feel like we should win," Boulware said. "I put the blame on me - I'm the guy calling the plays on offense.
"Defense was good, we had a few miscues on special teams. Offense was just way too inconsistent - I felt out of rhythm all night long as a play-caller, we couldn't get anything going. (Players) have to execute, but I have to put them in a better position, so it's on me."
North Callaway was in line to rally and driving the ball in Wright City territory as it headed to the final 12 minutes. However, senior quarterback Jadon Henry was intercepted near the Wildcats' goal line on a fourth-down pass with 10:32 to play.
The Thunderbirds received another fast chance when they forced a three-and-out by the Wildcats and took possession on Wright City's side of the field after a short punt. However, after gaining 10 yards on first down, North Callaway senior fullback Mason Wortman fumbled and the Wildcats recovered at their 32-yard line.
The Thunderbirds' defense coerced another three-and-out and North Callaway moved the ball once again into Wright City territory. Facing a fourth-and-2 at the Wildcats' 23, the Thunderbirds were pushed back after being called for a holding penalty and Henry was then sacked at the 41-yard line as Wright City took over.
North Callaway had one last opportunity after forcing another three-and-out by the Wildcats, but Henry's pass was picked off at the Wright City 27 with 2:14 remaining.
Henry completed only 4-of-10 passes for 43 yards and was intercepted three times.
"It just seemed to snowball all night long," Boulware said. "It seemed like we were in long-yardage situations, we couldn't finish a drive. I just felt behind the eight-ball all night long.
"My play-calling was way out of rhythm. The plays that we like to set up to run other plays off of weren't working, and I didn't have a very good Plan B."
Wright City's defense was able to throttle the Thunderbirds' rushing attack that had averaged a massive 364 yards in the previous two games. North Callaway managed just 113 yards on the ground Friday night.
The Thunderbirds' lone score came on sophomore running back Trevor Ray's 1-yard touchdown run with 4:34 to go in the second quarter. Wortman topped North Callaway with 67 yards rushing on 18 carries and Ray added 47 yards in nine attempts.
"They were taking away the inside runs," Boulware said. "It was a good game plan on their part - I give the Wright City coaching staff and their kids credit. They came out and hit, and took it to us, hit us in the mouth.
" We got a little too comfortable with just being a dominant inside-run team and we've got to have more in our arsenal than that."
Senior wide receiver Will Janowski accounted for both scores by the Wildcats (3-1, 2-0). Janowski's 23-yard touchdown burst with :40 left in the first quarter put Wright City on the scoreboard and he followed with a 9-yard touchdown run at the 9:12 mark of the second quarter to make it 14-0.
North Callaway's defense shut out the Wildcats from that point on, holding Wright City to 197 yards of total offense.
"The defense made stop after stop in the second half, gave us chances and got us the ball down close," Boulware said. "The defense came to play, did a really good job."
North Callaway will look to regroup this week when it goes to Van-Far/Community for an EMO contest. The Indians tumbled to 1-3 on the season and 0-2 in the EMO after being shut out at home by Clopton/Elsberry 41-0 on Friday night.
"We have to pull together," Boulware said. "The worst thing you can do is start pointing fingers, looking for somebody else to blame. Every player out here - when we look at film - is going to find things they could have done better.
"We just have to play better as a unit, we have to come out of the gate faster - start the game on fire - and we have to figure out our personnel and our packages. I've got to put together a much better offensive game plan."
Ryan Boland can be reached at (573) 826-2422, or on Twitter @FultonSunSports.