North Callaway thunderbirds

Fresh off a 7-4 season, the North Callaway Thunderbirds will look to strike back even harder in 2023. The team finished second in the Eastern Missouri Conference, behind a Bowling Green team who went a perfect 7-0 in conference play. Head Coach Kevin O’Neal returned for his first season back as leader of the Thunderbirds since stepping down from the role in 2018. His experience at the school helped the team earn three more wins than their 2021 season. Now, with the loss of key senior talent, O’Neal will look to repeat that success with help from newcomers. On offense, North Callaway will return seven starters, each entering their senior season. In 2022, the offense utilized a balanced attack with 22 passing TD’s and 19 rushing TD’s. The team lost starting QB Braydn O’Neal, who threw for 1640 yards with a 84.3 QB rating this past season. Junior QB Carter Moore (5’11, 168) will look to step into the role in 2023. Head Coach O’Neal recognizes how this may impact the offense, “We will have a new quarterback who will need to become the leader of this offense,” O’Neal said. “We will lean on our running game early and hope to develop in our passing game as the season progresses.” North Callaway returns its three senior running backs: Tucker Wright (5’9, 148), Kyle Pennell (5’9, 158) and Riley Humphrey

Class: Class 2

Conference: Eastern Missouri

Head Coach: Kevin O’Neal

Years at School: 19 (6 as Head Coach)

Record at School: 43-24

Overall Record: 43-24

Offensive Starters Returning: 7

Defensive Starters Returning: 6

Total Returning Lettermen: 13

2022 Overall Record: 7-4

(5’9, 158). Wright and Humphrey led the ground attack in 2022; Wright finished the season with 348 rushing yards and 4 TDs, and Humphrey with 224 rushing yards and 1 TD. Pennell, who also serves as a fullback, saw much of his use in the passing game, with 116 receiving yards and 2 TDs. In their Pro I/Spread mix offense, these three backs will certainly be a featured part of the team’s attack. They will look to push their running game behind two key returning linemen, senior OL Landon Oney (5’11, 205) and senior OL Cooper Wortmann (5’10, 195). The team also sees the return of senior WRs Cashton Halloway (6’1, 140) and Lane Kimbley (5’11, 140). Kimbley racked up 79 receiving yards and 3 receiving TDs in 2022 and will look to build upon those totals this season. With the loss of senior WRs Eli Henry and AJ Siegel, they will need experienced players like Kimbley and Halloway to step up. With North Callaway’s limited returning starters on offense, they will look for several newcomers to lead the charge. The team averaged 27 points per game in the 2022 season, with 150 passing yards per game and 165 rushing yards per game.

Their offense proved to be explosive, scoring over 30 points in five of their wins. Looking to protect their new QB, the team adds more depth to its line with junior OL Justice Moore (6’0, 223) and senior OL Carsyn Sheets (6’0, 225). Additionally, they will add more offensive weapons with junior TE Clayton Moore (6’3, 190) and sophomore WR Austin Brown (5’10, 138). Despite their losses, O’Neal is hopeful about this upcoming season, “We lost several good players and leaders but feel that the next class is eager to step into their roles,” he said. “The new players will need to learn to compete at a high level quickly and our seniors will need to fill leadership roles for us to be successful.”

On the other side of the ball, North Callaway returns six defensive starters. Senior LB Kyle Pennell is a key returning player, as he led the team in tackles last season with 59, in addition to 2 sacks and 1 interception. The team also returns three linemen – senior DL Cooper Wortmann and DL Landon Oney, as well as junior DL David Sapp (6’2, 212). In his sophomore season, Sapp accumulated 27 tackles and will look to make an even bigger splash in 2023. Senior defensive linemen Wortmann and Oney recorded 31 tackles and 29 tackles, respectively, and will seek to anchor the line this season. Two starters return in the secondary: senior DB Lane Kimbley and senior DB Cashton Halloway. Kimbley provided a spark for the defense in 2022, racking up 35 tackles and 1 interception. Halloway also made an impact with 22 tackles. “(North Callaway has) several starters returning in the front six (who) look to be solid versus the run game” O’Neal said. “We need our defensive backs and safeties to develop quickly to help in pass defense.” Defensive newcomers include OLB Clayton Moore and freshman DL Jaiden Galbreath (5’11, 215). The defense allowed 29 points per game last season, including seismic final scores of 71-14 and 61-12 against tough opponents like Blair Oaks and Bowling Green. If the inexperienced secondary can step into their roles, as hoped by O’Neal, they have a good shot of securing tough wins against state-ranked opponents. Head Coach O’Neal, with 19 years at the program, provides valuable experience for a team that’s looking to further improve on a strong season. A short list of returning starters means newcomers will need to fill their roles quickly.