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For the third time in a row and the fifth time in the last six years, the Callaway football team are region champions. The Cavaliers won a thrilling region championship showdown with no. 2 Morgan County on Friday, 33-26.

“I’m really proud of our kids. We’ve worked so hard. We started off a little rocky in the years, and played really good football teams, teams that had good players, that were well coached and they’ve stuck with it. They’ve stuck with what we do, believing in each day, believing in overcoming adversity, and we just beat a really good football team,” an emotional Callaway coach Pete Wiggins said after the game. “This never gets old.”

The Cavaliers got off to a blazing start and took a 7-0 lead just over a minute into the game on a 5-yard touchdown run by Tyren Buggs. It was all set up by a shot play from Blake Harrington to Bryceton Sanders that set up the Cavaliers inside the 10-yard line.

The Callaway defense would force a punt on Morgan County’s opening possession and the offense would march down the field to double the Cavalier lead when Harrington hit Kaiden James for their first of two touchdown connections on the night. 

“[James] is fast. He’s explosive and he just wants to make plays, just like so many of the guys on our team,” Wiggins said.

Morgan County would get on the board with a touchdown late in the first quarter, but Callaway would come right back with a touchdown as the team found the end zone on its first three possessions of the game. Harrington connected with James for a 26-yard touchdown on a fourth down play, putting the Cavaliers up 21-7.

“Anytime you can create points and make explosive plays, obviously, you gain momentum and the crowd is in it, the kids are in it and so that’s huge,” Wiggins said. “Plays like that determine football games.”

The Bulldogs had an answer, scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter to cut the Callaway lead down to 21-20 heading into halftime.

Morgan County kept the momentum going in the second half, taking the opening possession of the third quarter right down the field and scoring a touchdown to take its first lead of the game, 26-21. 

The game stayed locked in at 26-21 until the first play of the fourth quarter. Buggs, the team’s senior starting running back, scored from 16 yards out to put the Cavaliers back out in front. It was another big game for Buggs, who rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s the team’s heart and soul,” Wiggins said. “There were times when we were not sure if he would come back, but he has worked his butt off with (athletic trainer) Rob Dicks and he always stayed positive during rehab.”

Buggs returned from an ACL injury in Callaway’s fifth game of the season against Redan and has already eclipsed double-digit touchdowns on the season. 

The Cavalier defense would bow up in the fourth quarter, forcing a turnover on downs in their own territory twice in the fourth quarter, once with 6:27 and another with under two minutes to go that sealed the ball game.

In between the two fourth down stops, the Cavaliers were able to add to their lead. After a long run from Buggs set the team up in a goal-to-go situation, Harrington rushed into the end zone from a couple yards out to put the Cavaliers up by a touchdown. Callaway went for a two-point conversion in an attempt to go up two scores, but Buggs was tackled just short of the goal line.

After an 0-2 start, Callaway finished the regular season with eight wins in a row.

“It didn’t feel good,” Wiggins said of his team’s start to the season. “I hate to lose. I hate it, and I hate it for the kids. Our guys handled adversity and we’ve continued to grow and get better.”

Callaway heads to the playoffs with an 8-2 record and a perfect 5-0 record in region play. The Cavaliers will host an opening round playoff game at Callaway Stadium on Nov. 15.