Eagles rip past T-Birds in runaway

ASHLAND, Mo. - With eight starters returning to the North Callaway defense for the 2016 season, Thunderbirds head coach Kevin O'Neal had good reason to be optimistic about the outlook.

At least for one game, those prospects weren't as promising.

Southern Boone senior quarterback Spencer Taggart passed for 195 yards and four touchdowns, and the Eagles built a 21-0 halftime lead en route to shredding North Callaway 48-20 in Friday night's season opener.

Taggart - who completed 17-of-31 passes and was not intercepted - threw two of his touchdown passes in the second quarter. The first score covered 29 yards to senior wide receiver Kolton Schupp and the other went for 17 yards to fellow senior wide receiver Clay Jeffrey.

Senior running back Tanner Smith accounted for Southern Boone's first score in the second quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run.

Taggart increased the Eagles' advantage to 28-0 when he flipped an 8-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Cooper Mange with 8 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the third quarter. That triggered a flurry of four scores between North Callaway and Southern Boone over the next 51 seconds.

With the Thunderbirds in catch-up mode and furiously trying to scramble back into the game, senior quarterback Milo Henry connected with junior running back Adam Reno on a 72-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown at the 8:36 mark. North Callaway's special teams then turned around and jumped on a fumble at the Eagles' 17-yard line on the following kickoff.

On the next play, Henry lofted a touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Austin Edwards to bring the Thunderbirds within 28-12 with 8:17 to go in the quarter. However, Mange immediately countered by breaking off a 53-yard scoring run for Southern Boone at the 8:04 mark.

Eagles sophomore kicker Parker Boyce made it 38-12 when he booted a 25-yard field goal with 3:28 left in the quarter. North Callaway tacked on its final score on Henry's 25-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Dawson Wright at the 1:02 mark.

Taggart's fourth touchdown pass went for 3 yards to Jeffrey with 10:43 remaining in the game and Boyce knocked through a 22-yard field goal with 6:02 left to close out the scoring.

With the Thunderbirds' running game practically non-existent (31 carries for minus-15 yards), Henry finished 12-of-26 for 337 yards and the three scores. Henry, though, also threw three interceptions and was sacked 10 times.

Senior running back Wyatt Branson led North Callaway with five catches for 112 yards and Edwards followed with four receptions for 110 yards. Reno had two catches for 90 yards and finished with a team-high 24 yards rushing on only two carries.

The Thunderbirds will remain on the road this week when they go to Tipton. The Cardinals kicked off their season with a 30-6 loss at St. Paul Lutheran (Concordia) on Friday night.

Ryan Boland can be reached at (573) 826-2422, or by email at [email protected].