KINGDOM CITY - When pondering the prospects for his North Callaway Thunderbirds after their sensational 2017 season, coach Kevin O'Neal's assessment was certainly a prominent topic within his own household.
North Callaway produced a remarkable 11-2 record last season, fashioned by an 11-game winning streak that steered the Thunderbirds to an Eastern Missouri Conference championship and a district title. North Callaway's season came to a close in a 33-7 loss at Clark County in the Class 2 quarterfinals.
How the imprint of that success influences the Thunderbirds moving forward remains to be seen. North Callaway launches the 2018 season tonight at home against the Missouri Military Academy Colonels. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
O'Neal was queried during the summer by his oldest son, Braydn, about parallels between last year's Thunderbirds and this season's squad. North Callaway brings back only three starters on offense and six on defense.
"I said (to Braydn) that I think this year's team can get to that same spot, we just might have a little bit of a steeper climb to get there," said O'Neal, who is starting his fifth season with the Thunderbirds. " The development of this year's team is going to have to go maybe a little bit further than last year's team, but hopefully even past what we did last year.
"You talk about the successes that you had in your past, building a program and trying to sustain that, but once you get on top you've got the target on your back. You have to make sure you're working twice as hard every practice, every week, because you're the ones that people are coming for now."
The Thunderbirds' offense averaged 42.9 points last season behind a punishing run attack that accumulated 265 yards per game. However, leading rusher Adam Reno graduated after setting school single-season records by gaining 2,131 yards and scoring 32 touchdowns.
Reno's departure will be made less difficult with the return of senior running back Jordan Delashmutt, who was second on the team with 703 yards rushing (8.3 per carry) and 13 scores in 2017.
"Jordan is an old-school football player," O'Neal said. "He's just a hard-nosed kid that doesn't shy away from contact, ever - he's going to give you everything he has on every play and refuse to come off the field.
" He's in there to grind it out and that's what we want with our running game. He definitely is that."
Junior running back Mason Wortman - who finished with 228 yards (7.6 average) and three TDs last season - should see an uptick in carries for North Callaway, along with senior running back Dakota Brush. O'Neal said freshman running back Trevor Ray could also work his way into the mix.
The Thunderbirds appeared to be settled at quarterback for the next two years with the emergence of Tully Thomsen as a sophomore starter in 2017. Thomsen passed for 1,201 yards, 19 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
Everything changed, though, back in the spring when his father - Dr. Bryan Thomsen - announced he was leaving North Callaway to become superintendent at Oak Grove.
O'Neal suddenly finds himself in a quandary at quarterback. Jadon Henry - now a junior - attempted only three passes as Tully Thomsen's backup last season. Senior Skylar Morris didn't play football in 2017 but has played for O'Neal on the Thunderbirds baseball team.
O'Neal was undecided on whether Henry or Morris would start tonight's opener.
"Honestly, it's good to have that competition between the two because they're pushing each other," O'Neal said. "We're going to try to figure out who's going to be the best fit, and it might be something where you see both of them working in and out for a couple of weeks."
North Callaway's passing game will benefit from the return of senior wide receiver Dawson Wright, who was second with 15 catches last season but topped the Thunderbirds in both receiving yards (372) and touchdown receptions (eight).
While Henry and Morris work on getting comfortable at QB, O'Neal is hoping to design a couple of plays specifically for Wright to keep him involved.
"I had the conversation with Dawson, this being his senior year and him wanting to play football at the next level, he was concerned about his receiving numbers and the type of offense that we run," O'Neal said. "He needs to know that colleges are going to notice him because of what he does on the field.
"He may only have three catches a game, but when all three of them are for touchdowns, that's pretty big."
Senior Chet Cunningham will also line up at wide receiver for North Callaway. Sophomore Christian Griffith is expected to start at tight end.
The Thunderbirds' lone returning starter on their offensive line is senior Mark Isgrig, who is moving from center to guard. O'Neal said Isgrig is fully healthy after dislocating his elbow in the quarterfinal loss to Clark County.
"Mark is just a consistent player - he's going to do it exactly the right way every time and give his best effort," O'Neal said.
Juniors Will Jeffries and Ben Bondurant are leading contenders to join Isgrig as starters. Junior Tanner Taylor, sophomore Malakai Raney, freshman Zeke Gilman and senior Cody Watson - a transfer from Fulton - are competing to fill the other spots.
Delashmutt - a second-team all-state pick at linebacker by the Missouri Football Coaches Association in 2017 - will direct a North Callaway defense that surrendered only 11.9 points a game last season. Delashmutt logged a team-high 137 tackles and also led the Thunderbirds with 9.5 sacks and six fumble recoveries.
"His reads and his knowledge of the game - he watches a lot of film - his guard reads and his back reads are just phenomenal," O'Neal said. "He is so fast to fit where he's supposed to fit defensively."
Delashmutt will be joined at linebacker by Griffith and Ray.
Isgrig and Jeffries will anchor North Callaway's defensive line as returning starters at the tackle positions. Isgrig posted 54 tackles and three sacks in 2017.
Wortman returns as a starter at strong-side end, while Brush will be the rush end. Wortman recorded 58 tackles, five sacks and four fumble recoveries last season.
Bondurant and Watson should also see playing time at the end spots.
The Thunderbirds' secondary will be guided by Wright, who came up with a team-high seven interceptions in 2017 and also had 55 tackles. Henry will set up at strong safety, while Cunningham and sophomore Cody Cash will be the cornerbacks.
North Callaway will encounter a familiar face on the opposing sideline tonight against MMA, which finished with a 1-9 record in 2017. The Colonels are entering their third season under head coach Mitchell Jenkins, a 2000 North Callaway graduate who played for the Thunderbirds.
"I know coach Jenkins is going to have his kids ready to go," O'Neal said. "I've talked to him a couple of times this summer - I know he's excited at the opportunity to come back to North Callaway and play a football game. It's a big game for them and so he's going to do his best to prepare his kids.
"We need to not look past anybody and make sure that we're prepared for week No. 1. That's the most important thing right now is winning week No. 1 and then we'll build off that each week."