KINGDOM CITY, Mo. - With their first win of the season in possession, the North Callaway Thunderbirds are concentrating on progression instead of regression.
North Callaway - which trampled Tipton 47-0 at home last week - opens the Eastern Missouri Conference portion of its schedule with a trip tonight to Mark Twain. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
"The main thing we want to do is to continue to improve each week, continue to get better as a football team," North Callaway coach Kevin O'Neal said. "I think we're on the right track right now. We've got to make sure that we don't slide backwards with any of that.
"We have to get better and take care of ourselves."
The Thunderbirds (1-1) certainly did that last week against Tipton, battering the Cardinals behind a 261-yard rushing outburst. Senior running back Adam Reno posted a game-high 136 yards on the ground and scored twice, while junior running back Jordan Delashmutt delivered 92 yards and a 30-yard touchdown run.
Sophomore quarterback Tully Thomsen - despite being sacked four times - hooked up with senior wide receiver Austin Edwards on touchdown throws of 31 and 16 yards.
"I was very pleased with what we did up front," O'Neal said. "We wanted to control the line of scrimmage and I thought our offensive line did a good job of that. (Tipton) got into some fronts that we hadn't practiced against all week, and we did a good job of adjusting on the fly and picking those things up.
"The things we wanted to get done, I thought we did - run the football and we got the passing game going a little bit. We've still got some things we've got to clean up on that."
North Callaway's defense also tormented the Cardinals, recovering six fumbles that were ultimately converted into points by the Thunderbirds. North Callaway limited Tipton to a feeble 138 yards of total offense, with 131 yards coming from its running game.
"We're starting to get better up front," O'Neal said. "The line on both sides of the ball was a concern coming into this year, but I think those guys are really working hard to improve what they're doing.
"We still tend to play a little bit high (upright) here and there, but those guys are starting to do the little things that we asked them to, playing assignment football."
The Thunderbirds played last week without one of their top defenders and leading tackler from last season, senior inside linebacker Tanner Pezold. O'Neal explained that his status was questionable tonight.
Pezold - who pinched a nerve in his left shoulder in North Callaway's 15-12 season-opening loss to Southern Boone - was scheduled to see a doctor Wednesday.
"We'll find out from there," O'Neal said.
Mark Twain slipped to 1-1 on the season after being overpowered at home by Hallsville 41-6 last week. The Tigers' offense is directed by senior quarterback Lincoln Talbott and their young backfield includes sophomore running backs Jace Barton and Avery Epperson.
Barton broke out for 163 yards rushing and two touchdowns in Mark Twain's 28-14 triumph at Milan in the season opener. Epperson gained 82 yards and accounted for the other two scores in the victory.
"They're trying to spread the ball out a little bit more," O'Neal said. "They threw the ball a little more against Hallsville than I've seen Mark Twain throw it in a long time.
" In the past, they've had a couple of running backs that have run the ball really hard and they've been able to really pound it with those guys. They still have guys that run the ball hard, but they're not as big, physical runners as what they've had in the past."
O'Neal stressed the Thunderbirds' defensive unit can't stray from its individual assignments, primarily against the Tigers' immense offensive line.
"We've got to make sure we're not getting upfield too far with our interior guys," O'Neal said. "The linebackers are really going to have to read some keys this week and make sure we're fitting in the right spots."
Meanwhile, O'Neal expects Mark Twain's 4-4 defense to stack the line of scrimmage in an attempt to bottle up North Callaway's running game.
"We've got to make sure we hit the holes quick with our running backs - we don't wait around for that," O'Neal said. "We've got to make sure we get on blocks and sustain those blocks.
"That's how you counter that, along with some play-action passes and a quick passing game. Our pass protection hasn't been up to par, I don't think, and so we're going to work on that this week and try to help out with that. Tully needs to get the ball out a little bit quicker, as well."
Related media:
North Callaway Thunderbirds Football Podcast [Mark Twain preview, Sept. 1, 2017]