Macon 33 at North Calloway Sep 9/2/2022 (179 pictures)

Tigers ground the Thunderbirds 33-0

After opening the new season with a victory at home over Kirksville, the Tigers would make their first road trip and another non-conference opponent in the North Callaway Thunderbirds. The Tigers would win the coin toss and elect to defer to the second half. Macon would boot the ball away and would see the Thunderbirds bring it back on a long return to the Tigers thirty-two. On first down North Calloway would go to the ground and would be stopped short on a tackle by Dalton Cashatt. On second down the Thunderbirds would go backward five yards on an illegal procedure. They would get the yardage back on the next play with a run to the thirty. On third down they would be shutdown on a nice tackle by Cashatt to force fourth down. North Calloway would then try a sweep on fourth and seven but it would be sniffed out by Hayden Burns and stopped for a two-yard gain. Macon would get the ball on their own twenty-seven after the turnover on downs. On first down, Maurice Magruder would fall forward for a yard. After back-to-back incompletions the Tigers would also be forced to punt. North Callaway would have the ball again at their own forty-three. Like their first drive, Cashatt would hold them to one yard on first down. The Tigers would bat the next pass attempt down at the line and force an incompletion on third down. The Thunderbirds would be forced to punt to Bryant Carpenter at the Macon twenty-eight. Magruder would again start the drive with a run up the middle for two yards. What would happen next is, well, hard to explain. Let’s call it the “annexation of Portugal”. Magruder took the handoff, burst through the line and rumbled down the field. Magruder took it all the way to the Thunderbird thirty and was hit from behind. The ball fell to the ground and wobbled across the field. Boston Douglas picked it up stumbled forward and appeared to fumble the ball a second time. Somehow in a tangle of bodies, Douglas recovered the ball and stood in the endzone with a touchdown. The point after was good and the Tigers held a 7-0 lead with 6:49 to go in the first quarter. A shocked Thunderbird squad took the field and started with an incompletion. Macon would keep the grind going with a sixteen-yard loss on a tackle by Kace Holman. After an incompletion, North Callaway was again forced to punt. Carpenter would take advantage and streak down the field to the Thunderbird six-yard line. The Tigers would then go in the wrong direction. A run for a four-yard loss and a holding penalty put the ball back at the twenty-five. The Tigers would be forced to go to the air and after three incompletions, gave the ball back over on downs. North Callaway went to the ground and would gain four yards and add ten more to gain thirty-nine. The next run would be stopped for no-gain, forcing them to try the pass. The Tigers pass rush had been living in the Thunderbirds backfield and forced two more incompletions. They would be forced to punt and Carpenter would take the ball back into their territory at the forty-seven. Magruder took the opening handoff and rumbled down the tracks for seventeen yards. Magruder would then gain four more yards to the twenty-six but then was stopped for no-gain. On third and six from the twenty-six, Mykel Linear connected on a slat to Landon Cole for a first down at the fifteen. Linear would then keep the ball in his hands an weave down the field for a touchdown. The point after was no good but the Tigers led 13-0 with 1:14 to go in the first. The Tigers kicked off and Ryder Lewis saved a long return with a nice open field tackle. From their own thirty-four, North Callaway would gain two yards on a short pass. Gage Lewis would then drop them in the backfield for a four-yard loss to end the first quarter. The Tigers had held the thunderbirds to negative three yards in the opening quarter.

The second would start with another incompletion and yet another punt by North Callaway. The Tigers would take over at their own forty. Magruder would take the handoff and looked like he was stopped cold at the line. He would keep his legs moving and the Tiger line jumped on his back and pushed him forward twenty-two yards to the North Callaway thirty-eight. The Choo-choo would then turnup six more yards on the next play. Linear would then connect over the middle again with Johnathon Bray for a first down at the twenty-four. Mickey Martie would then come into the gain and move the rock forward five yards to the nineteen. After a run for no-gain, Linear would inch the ball forward for one yard. The Tigers would go for it on fourth down and would be rewarded with a fifteen-yard pass to Cole at the four. Magruder would then take it home from there with a touchdown. Magruder would cap the drive off with a run into paydirt for a 2-point conversion and a 21-0 lead with 7:40 to go in the half. Macon would send the ball off with a sky-kick to the Thunderbirds thirty-six. North Callaway would start with an incompletion, add a one yard run and after another incompletion, punt the ball back to Macon. The ball would be down at the Macon twenty-one to start the next drive. After a run for no-gain, Magruder would move the line forward four yards. Linear would then gain the first down with a gain of eight to the thirty-three. Number thirty-three Isaac Kauffman took the cue and the ball nine yards to the forty-two. Linear would keep the number game going with a seven-yard run to the forty-nine of North Callaway. Another gain of seven yards by Kauffman moved the ball to the forty-two. The Tigers would then fumble on the next snap and North Callaway took over on their own forty-three. They would gain six yards on the ground to nearly mid-field. After an incompletion, they would try the pass again and it would be tipped by Gage Lorenzo for another incomplete pass. On fourth down, the Thunderbirds would get a rare completion of ten yards to the Macon thirty-nine. With a fresh first down, Martie would spoil it with a tackle for a loss of four yards. The Thunderbirds would gain three on the ground and four more with a pass to the thirty-six. With a fourth and seven in front of them they would try the ground and get stopped short with a four-yard gain. Macon would take over on downs and run out the first half with a 21-0 led over North Callaway.

The Tigers would take the second half kickoff and it was return to midfield by Landon Cole. Magruder would takeover again and rush for seven yards and three more to the thunderbird forty. Linear would then drop back and hit Carpenter with a big gain of thirty yards to the ten-yard line. Linear would then keep the ball for a seven-yard gain to the three. It would then become a battle of wills between the two squads. Martie would gain a yard to the two, then gain another to the one. Linear would follow and punch it in from one yard out on fourth down for the score. The point after was no-good and Macon led 27-0 with 7:30 to go in the third. The Tigers would kick the ball away and North Callaway would go on their best drive of the contest from their own thirty-eight. It would start with no-gain on the ground but a pass for twenty-four yards would flip the field to the Tiger thirty-eight. The next rushing attempt would go for eleven to the Macon twenty-seven. After an incompletion, they would gain five on the ground to the twenty-two. Keeping it on the ground they would gain the first down with a ten-yard run to the twelve. The Tigers defense had seen enough and Kauffman and Burns combined on a loss of nine yards with a sack. North Calloway would respond with a twelve-yard gain to the Macon nine. A run for no-gain was followed by an incompletion on fourth down for a turnover on downs. Macon would be stopped for no-gain on first down, but then Linear would break free. Mykel would bob, weave and dash his way seventh-five yards down the field to the thunderbird sixteen. Magruder would then make a baker’s dozen on the ground to the three. The Tigers would then be dropped for a three-yard loss to end the third quarter with the ball on the six.

Magruder would open the final quarter with a run for two yards to the four and then punch it in from there for another Tiger Touchdown. The two-point conversion would fail but the Tigers held a 33-0 lead with 11:14 to go in the game. North Calloway would take over on their own thirty-eight to start their next drive. The first snap would see a pass batted down at the line for an incompletion. They would then gain three yards on the ground to bring up third down. Gannon Scheel would break through the line and drop them for a nine-yard sack to force a punt. After a punt was downed at the Macon twenty-nine, Caelan Harland would enter the game at quarterback. The Tigers drive would start off with a false start and had back five yards. Kauffman would then gain four of those yards back to the twenty-eight. A run for no-gain was followed by a two-yard gain by Harland to bring up fourth down. The Tigers would punt the ball away to the thunderbird thirty-two. A run for no-gain was followed by a loss of two yards back to the twenty-nine. After a pair of incompletions, the thunderbirds would give the ball back to Macon with a turnover on downs. Macon would begin their drive on twenty-four with a rush for no-gain. Harland would then use a keeper to pick up twenty-four yards to inside the one-yard line. After a run for no-gain the Tigers would be stopped with a two-yard loss. On third down, Alex Moots would move the ball back to the one with a two-yard gain. Macon would try to push the ball across on fourth down but would be stopped with a one-yard loss. North Callaway would then wave the white flag by keeping the ball on the ground, gaining thirty-eight yards on the ground on six plays to kill the clock. The Tigers would take their first victory on the road with a grown man football brand of great defense and a mauling ground attack 33-0. The Tigers will return home this week for their first conference game against the Clark County Indians. Circle the Wagons and we will see you there.