KINGDOM CITY, Mo. - The North Callaway Thunderbirds are anxious to make amends.
North Callaway head football coach Kevin O'Neal was encouraged by the reaction of his squad in the hours after the Thunderbirds kicked off the season with a deflating 48-20 loss at Southern Boone last week. North Callaway will look to redeem itself tonight when it remains on the road for a matchup at the Tipton Cardinals (7 p.m. kickoff).
"The good news is we came in for film on Saturday, my assistant coaches brought them in, the kids responded well," O'Neal said Tuesday afternoon. "There wasn't any finger-pointing going on, they accepted responsibility for what they did and they know that they have to get better.
"That's what excites me about coaching this team the most. Those kids accept that responsibility, they understand it's on them and I fully expect them to work to get better this week."
The Thunderbirds brought back eight starters on defense this season, but were battered by Southern Boone's passing game. Senior quarterback Spencer Taggart threw for 195 yards and four touchdowns as the Indians - who built a 21-0 halftime lead - accumulated 310 yards of total offense.
"Defensively, early on, I thought we played well," O'Neal said. "Southern Boone came out trying to establish the run and I thought our defense did a good job of shutting that down early.
"Then they found some holes in our pass defense and it's just little things in coverage that we have to fix. I know we'll clean that up and get better in those areas."
Meanwhile, the Eagles' defense completely bottled up North Callaway's running game as the Thunderbirds were in the deficit with minus-15 yards on 31 carries.
"Southern Boone was an aggressive defense and I don't think our kids were quite prepared for that," O'Neal said. "They were attacking at the line of scrimmage, really pressuring up front, and their linebackers are very good. Their ends on the outside played well.
"It was nothing that we hadn't talked about and prepared for, but I don't think we're ready for that level yet."
With North Callaway trailing big and the running game removed from the offensive equation, senior quarterback Milo Henry was called on to throw the ball more. Henry completed 12-of-26 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns - all in the third quarter - but was intercepted three times and sacked 10 times.
Senior running back Wyatt Branson led the Thunderbirds with five catches for 112 yards, while junior wide receiver Austin Edwards had four receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Adam Reno also finished with two catches for 90 yards and a score.
"It's there, it's explosive," O'Neal said of North Callaway's passing attack. "Early in the game, the three interceptions - I think - were all tipped balls by our receivers. A little bit of that is on Milo, a little bit's on the receivers.
"Some of those passes were a little high but they got their hands on it, they just didn't catch them. We're just a little bit off."
North Callaway will face a Tipton team that also lost its opener last week, 30-6 at St. Paul Lutheran (Concordia). The Cardinals' offense is led by quarterback Dalton Weaver (5-foot-7, 140 pounds) and the backfield includes Seth Gibson (5-10, 145), Dylan Becker (5-9, 165) and Matt Grunder (5-7, 145).
"He (head coach Tony Braby) is changing some things up front and he's changed the offense a little bit, and trying to adapt to the personnel that he has," O'Neal said. "They're doing some quick hitters (on offense), they still run the jet sweep.
" It looks a little bit more like South Callaway, they're trying to do a little bit of option with it too."
O'Neal stressed that North Callaway's defensive unit has to stick to its individual assignments tonight.
"I think our linebackers played well (last week), our defensive line played well at times, but we have to make sure that we're disciplined," O'Neal said. "They can gash you pretty quick with a quick hitter up the middle if we try to do something we're not supposed to do."
On the defensive side, O'Neal explained that Tipton likes to employ man-to-man coverage.
"They try to cover up all of your offensive linemen and blitz linebackers in gaps, and attack up front, which is something we struggled with Friday night," O'Neal said. "We're going to have to clean that up if we're going to have success offensively."
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