KINGDOM CITY, Mo. - The state-ranked North Callaway Thunderbirds have one last piece of business to complete before district play commences.
North Callaway will seek to procure a perfect Eastern Missouri Conference championship when it hosts neighboring rival Montgomery County in tonight's regular-season finale. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The Thunderbirds are 7-1 overall and ranked seventh in Class 2 in the Missouri Media Rankings for a second straight week. North Callaway collected its seventh consecutive win and stayed unbeaten in the EMO at 6-0 with a 48-7 romp at Bowling Green last week.
A win tonight against Montgomery County would give the Thunderbirds their first conference title since 2012.
"It's something that you strive for every year," North Callaway head coach Kevin O'Neal said. "Our conference has been pretty good at the top, and it's a tough conference to win up there at the top.
"We kind of got over that hump this year with the win against South Callaway - obviously, they're the reigning conference champs. The kids really believed, saw that opportunity there, and after that game they've been working hard ever since. I think we've put ourselves in a good position to do it."
The Thunderbirds will clash with a Montgomery County team that is on the upswing, having won three in a row after starting the season 1-4. The Wildcats climbed to the .500 mark at 4-4 overall and improved to 4-2 in the EMO with a 42-28 home win against Wright City last week."They've improved throughout the year and that's what you want as a head coach," O'Neal said. "I think coach (John) Klekamp has done a great job with them.
"You can see, as I've watched films throughout the year, how much they've improved and how much their confidence has gone up. We expect them to come in here and be ready to roll, ready to play football."
Senior quarterback Aubrey Nelson steers the Montgomery County offense, which is averaging 43.7 points during its winning streak.
Nelson has completed 60 percent of his passes (77-of-129) this season for 1,293 yards, 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also leads the Wildcats in rushing with 595 yards (4.5 yards per carry) and 14 scores.
Nelson's top target is senior wide receiver Tim Hall, who paces Montgomery County in catches (35), receiving yards (759; 21.7 average), and touchdowns (9). Junior wide receiver Colin Parrish also has 27 receptions for 399 yards (14.8 average) and two scores.
"They try to get you out of the box with their spread formation, and when you are out of the box, then they will try to run the football," O'Neal said. "They do a good job of taking advantage of what the defense is going to give you.
"(Nelson) is a hard runner, he throws a great football. We're going to have our work cut out for us."
North Callaway's defense limited Bowling Green to minus-16 yards rushing last week, but Bobcats sophomore quarterback Austin Callahan threw for 168 yards and that included a 75-yard touchdown pass. The Thunderbirds sacked Callahan twice and intercepted him twice.
"There are things that can be cleaned up," O'Neal said of North Callaway's pass defense. "It's more of a mental thing than it is a physical thing - we've just got to make sure we're focused all of the time."
The Thunderbirds will encounter a 3-3 stack defense tonight when they confront the Wildcats, who are allowing 23 points per game in the last three weeks. North Callaway expected to see a 3-3 scheme last week at Bowling Green, but the Bobcats pulled a switch and used six- and four-man fronts to confuse the Thunderbirds in the early going.
O'Neal admitted he felt better after watching the game film and liked how North Callaway's offensive line eventually made adjustments to the changing defensive fronts.
"We just didn't maintain blocks and move people like I wanted to, but we did a decent job of getting to the right person," O'Neal said. "That's encouraging and I think our kids are learning that up front.
"Like I said Friday night, that's on me as much as anything - I've got to make sure that they're prepared and they're ready to go. We're going to take a look at a bunch of different fronts this week and make sure we know how we're blocking all of them."
The Thunderbirds piled up 438 yards of total offense last week and featured another dazzling effort by senior running back Adam Reno, who gained a school-record 335 yards and scored four touchdowns.
O'Neal noted Montgomery County's defense will see more of the same from Reno and North Callaway's rushing attack tonight.
"We want to run the ball, that's our MO (mode of operation), that's what we've done throughout the year," O'Neal said. "That's what we want to make sure that we can do."
Related media:
North Callaway Thunderbirds Football Podcast [Montgomery County preview, Oct. 13, 2017]