The North Callaway Thunderbirds leaned on senior leadership to steer them back on course.
Senior quarterback Cole Branson played a part in all five North Callaway touchdowns - passing for three scores and running for two more - and the Thunderbirds charged their way to a 36-8 Eastern Missouri Conference victory over Clopton/Elsberry on Friday night.
North Callaway, regrouping after a demoralizing 66-6 EMO setback at state-ranked South Callaway, climbed back above the .500 mark to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play. Friday night's win also influenced the Class 2, District 6 standings as the Thunderbirds maintained their grip on third place with 35.45 points.
Clopton/Elsberry (3-4, 1-4) stayed in sixth place with 27.26 points.
"This was a very important game," North Callaway head coach Kevin O'Neal said. "I thought our seniors did a great job this week of bringing our team back together after a tough loss. We had a great week of practice, led by those guys, and they led us tonight, also.
"I'm very proud of what the seniors did."
The Thunderbirds got off to a snappy start, covering 56 yards in eight plays on the game's opening possession to go in front. Branson topped off the drive when he slashed his way into the end zone from 5 yards out with 8 minutes, 46 seconds to go in the first quarter. Sophomore running back J.T. Higgins tacked on the two-point conversion.
The IndianHawks were forced to punt from their own 45-yard line on their next series, but snapped the ball over junior kicker Jeremy Jennewein's head for a 30-yard loss. Five plays later, Branson found senior tight end Trevor Crisp on a 19-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-14 at the 3:30 mark.
Branson then connected with sophomore tight end Sam Slaughter for the two-point conversion.
North Callaway carried a 22-0 advantage into the break when Branson delivered a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Tyler Mattes with :32 remaining in the half.
Clopton/Elsberry attempted to make a comeback in the third quarter. After forcing the Thunderbirds to turn the ball over on downs at the IndianHawks' 36, Clopton/Elsberry broke through when senior quarterback Stephen Talbert floated a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Collin Dugan on a 56-yard catch-and run with 5:08 left.
Talbert then tossed a two-point conversion pass to senior tight end Michael Werkmeister.
North Callaway was able to reach Clopton/Elsberry's 15 on its following series, but was forced again to turn the ball over on downs when Higgins was tackled for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-inches. The Thunderbirds' defense then summoned a significant play of its own when junior cornerback Manzell Payne picked off a Talbert pass near midfield.
Branson immediately profited from the turnover on the first play by racing 47 yards down the IndianHawks' sideline for a touchdown, extending North Callaway's lead to 28-8 with 1:23 to play in the quarter.
The Thunderbirds then closed out the triumph when Branson paired up with Mattes again on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 8:02 remaining in the game.
Branson rushed for a game-high 197 yards and the two touchdowns on 13 carries, while completing 15-of-24 passes for 137 yards and the three scores. North Callaway - which did not commit any turnovers - piled up 412 yards of total offense, including 275 rushing.
"Cole took last week's loss pretty hard, and he and I sat down and talked about some things," O'Neal said. "He took it upon himself to help lead this team and I thought he executed very well.
"Cole is a big, strong kid. That's something that we wanted to do a little bit more this year, was feature him in our running game. I think running the ball gets him into his passing game, also."
With sophomore receiver A.J. Stubblefield nursing a sore knee, Mattes moved into the slot and responded with 10 catches for 91 yards - both game highs - and the two touchdowns.
"Tyler gives us that speed out there ... and he's a playmaker," O'Neal said. "He's another kid that worked hard this week to learn that position, and then to make plays for us."
The Thunderbirds' defense forced two turnovers, tallied two sacks and limited Clopton/Elsberry to 207 net yards - only 58 rushing - and the one score.
"Really our defense has been our strength all year; they've played well, with the exception of last Friday (against South Callaway)," O'Neal said. "They took that hard too, that loss, and Coach (Reid) Randolph does a great job with those guys, and he got them fired up and executing - and doing their job."
North Callaway travels to EMO foe Wright City this week as only two games remain before district play commences. The Wildcats (1-6, 1-4) have lost four straight conference games after falling at Van-Far 24-18 on Friday night.
"We can't be satisfied," O'Neal said. "As soon as you are comfortable, somebody's going to pass you up. The biggest thing that we're going to talk about is making sure that we're not satisfied and we work to get better next week."