The North Callaway Thunderbirds will challenge the Palmyra Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Palmyra will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: North Callaway extended their winning streak to four on Friday. The Thunderbirds simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Bowling Green 60-12. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 36-6.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead North Callaway to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kellen Long, who picked up 84 receiving yards and a pair of scores, and also rushed for 51 yards and one TD on only seven carries. Another passer making a difference was Coltyn O'Neal, who threw for 159 yards and three touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: North Callaway was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 278 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 162 rushing yards in nine consecutive games dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, after only 12 points in their last matchup, Palmyra made sure to put some points up on the board against Highland on Friday. The Panthers took their contest with ease, bagging a 67-20 victory over the Cougars. The Panthers have beaten the Cougars the last five times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Cougars has come to flipping the script.
North Callaway better keep an eye on Raeson Miller. He was instrumental in Palmyra's win, rushing for 235 yards and six TDs while picking up 13.1 yards per carry. Tyler Spicknall was another key back, rushing for 143 yards.
Palmyra didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Spicknall and Jonathan Edmunds.
North Callaway's win bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Palmyra, their victory bumped their record up to 3-1.
North Callaway didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Palmyra in their previous matchup back in September of 2024, but they still walked away with an 18-12 win. Will the Thunderbirds repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
