BOWLING GREEN, Mo. - The South Callaway Bulldogs didn't back off in putting away a beleaguered opponent.
South Callaway scored on 10 of its 11 offensive possessions and the Bulldogs stayed perfect by bombarding the Bowling Green Bobcats in a 69-0 Eastern Missouri Conference rampage Friday night.
South Callaway - which received three votes this past week in the Class 2 state media rankings - pushed its season record to 7-0 and its EMO mark to 5-0 with the commanding victory. The Bulldogs' defense persistently pestered Bowling Green (1-6, 1-4), surrendering a sparse 63 total yards and forcing two turnovers in the decisive shutout while handing the Bobcats their third straight loss.
"We came into this game and we just wanted to focus on us and do our jobs in all three phases, and make sure that we didn't have any letdowns," South Callaway head coach Zack Hess said. " We played hard and came out strong, and I think we did all of those things.
"We didn't let up, we kept going and kept our foot on the gas pedal. I think they (players) got the momentum fast and then they did a really good job of keeping it."
Junior running back Kaden Helsel amassed a game-high 133 yards rushing on only five carries and had a pair of long touchdown runs for South Callaway, but it was his special-teams play that kick-started the Bulldogs' scoring barrage. Helsel picked up a punt after Bowling Green's first series and darted 79 yards for a touchdown with 8 minutes, 43 seconds to play in the first quarter.
Junior quarterback Landon Horstman then extended South Callaway's lead to 13-0 with the first of his three touchdown passes, this one going for 29 yards to senior running back Bennett Hager at the 6:32 mark. Helsel followed with a 26-yard scoring burst and sophomore wingback Peyton Leeper added a 20-yard touchdown run with 2:36 left in the quarter to put the Bulldogs on top 26-0.
Helsel continued South Callaway's surge early in the second quarter by racing 65 yards for a touchdown and Horstman delivered a 70-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Austin Meyer, making it 38-0 with 6:10 remaining in the first half. Junior wide receiver Jarrett Livengood then made a 49-yard catch on the first play of the Bulldogs' next possession and followed with a 6-yard touchdown run on the next play.
South Callaway's final series of the half stalled at the Bobcats' 5-yard line, but senior kicker Dakota Kraft still provided points when he booted his first career field goal from 22 yards out with 1:56 to go. That sent the Bulldogs into halftime with a comfortable 48-0 advantage.
South Callaway slowed down a bit in the third quarter, with its lone score coming on Horstman's 14-yard touchdown pass to Livengood at the 5:35 mark. Leeper then scored on a 23-yard run with 11:22 to play in the game and sophomore running back Wyatt Hager's 17-yard touchdown run with 2:00 left capped off the Bulldogs' blitz.
Eleven different players had carries Friday night as South Callaway piled up 319 yards rushing. Leeper finished with 59 yards on just four touches and Wyatt Hager contributed 43 yards in his two attempts. Horstman completed 5-of-6 passes for 166 yards.
"We talked about not turning the ball over and converting and getting first downs, and staying on the field," Hess said. "If you can score 10 out of 11 possessions, you're doing something right.
"I think coach (offensive coordinator Tucker) Bartley called a great game - he mixed in the run-pass well and hopefully kept them off-balance, which I think we did.
The Bulldogs' defense bullied Bowling Green's run game, giving up a feeble 14 yards on the ground in 23 attempts and coming up with 10 tackles for losses. The Bobcats crossed midfield only once in 12 possessions.
"I thought up front we did a really good job," Hess said. "We controlled the line of scrimmage, for the most part, did a nice job of getting into their backfield and plugging up the runs."
South Callaway returns home this week for an EMO matchup against Clopton/Elsberry. The IndianHawks (5-1, 3-1) played Wright City in a conference game Saturday night. Results were not available at press time.
"Clopton is a good team coming in next week," Hess said. "We've got to take care of business there and then we'll just play it one week at a time and see where we're at.
"I was really happy about how way we played tonight and hopefully we can keep progressing."
Notes: South Callaway owns the top spot in the Class 2, District 5 standings with 48.33 points. Hermann (5-2) is second with 45.02 points, followed by Brentwood third (5-1, 44.98) and North Callaway fourth (5-2, 41.14).
The top four teams in the district host first-round games Oct. 21.