MOKANE, Mo. - South Callaway head coach Zack Hess doesn't want to see his disappointed Bulldogs dwell.
South Callaway's mission is to learn and head forward after an emotional 33-29 loss at North Callaway in the annual Callaway Cup rivalry game last week. The Bulldogs had their seven-game winning streak in the series come to a crushing stop.
South Callaway - booted from the Class 2 Missouri Media Rankings after the setback - will seek to regroup tonight when it goes to Montgomery County for an Eastern Missouri Conference game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs appeared to be in position for a dramatic victory last week when junior running back Peyton Leeper's 17-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 1 minute, 17 seconds left helped give South Callaway a 29-26 edge.
North Callaway, though, staged its own compelling comeback. Sophomore quarterback Tully Thomsen answered with a 43-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Austin Edwards for the game-winner with :43 to play.
Hess stressed the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 EMO) can't allow the painful loss to hijack the rest of their season and the objectives they can still accomplish.
"We have our routine that we do and we're not going to switch it up depending on who we lose to," Hess said. "Once you get to a certain point after you look at the film - and you go back and you watch it, and you break it down, and all of that - I think you just have to stop talking about it.
"You've got to stop talking about it, you've got to start focusing all of your efforts and your energies on your next opponent. (New England Patriots head coach) Bill Belichick, he's famous for (saying), 'We're moving on to whoever they're playing,' right? And it's the same idea."
South Callaway's concentration now turns toward Montgomery County, which is coming off its first win of the season. The Wildcats (1-3, 1-1) - coached by former Bulldogs assistant John Klekamp - survived in a 49-34 EMO shootout at Clopton/Elsberry last week.Senior quarterback Aubrey Nelson guides the Montgomery County offense, which has gone to a more spread approach this season. Nelson is only 21-of-39 passing (53 percent) for 275 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, but he leads the Wildcats in rushing with 288 yards (4.5 average) and five scores.
"He's a really good athlete," Hess said. "He's a very good runner and has a good arm. Their offense is basically designed around him, running specific plays for him."
Montgomery County will likely be without one of its key offensive pieces in senior Corey Kroll, who has been dividing time between receiver, running back and quarterback. Kroll sat out last week's game with an unknown injury and Hess isn't expecting him to play tonight.
Kroll has rushed for 242 yards (8.6 average) and a touchdown this season. He also has three catches for 64 yards and two scores.
"He's a great athlete," Hess said. "They were using him at a receiver, then motioning him into the backfield as a running back, and then some plays he would be the quarterback."
The South Callaway defense gave up 401 yards of total offense to North Callaway. That included a 163-yard, three-touchdown passing performance by Thomsen.
"Going back to the things we need to work on, our focus is alignment and tackling," Hess said. "Specifically with Montgomery, I think understanding what they're trying to do offensively with our game plan and our breakdown, we feel pretty good about that."
The Wildcat defense - which operates out of an even front or a 3-3 stack - is allowing 25.8 points per game and the total it gave up to Clopton/Elsberry last week was a season-high.
"They have the athletes to do it (scheme) and they're doing it well," Hess said. "Coach Klekamp, that's kind of his MO (mode of operation), he's a defensive guy.
"They're always really aggressive, they always have a real sound plan schematically, especially for us. They know what we like to do - it will be a challenge."
The Bulldogs tallied 387 yards of total offense last week, including 352 rushing. South Callaway had difficulty throwing the ball as senior quarterback Landon Horstman and Leeper combined to complete just 5-of-17 passes for 35 yards and an interception.
"We want to be more efficient in the pass game," Hess said. "Overall, I think we just want to be more efficient in finishing drives."
Related media:
South Callaway Bulldogs Football Podcast [Montgomery County preview, Sept. 15, 2017]