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For the first time in nine years the Callaway football team will not be playing on Black Friday. The Cavaliers streak of making the 2A state quarterfinals ended on Friday night as they lost to Stephen’s County 35-33 in the second round of the state playoffs.

“To be down 28-7 at half, they kept at it. It shows the type of team we are,” said head coach Pete Wiggins.

The Cavaliers dug an early hole for themselves and could never quite overcome it. 

The Indians took a 7-0 lead on a short rushing touchdown after their defense forced a punt from Callaway on the opening drive.

The Cavaliers would respond quickly as senior running back Tyren Buggs took a handoff 35 yards into the end zone and a successful extra point knotted the game up late in the first quarter.

That would be as good as it would get for the home team. Stephens County would rattle off 21 unanswered points in the first half to take a commanding 28-7 lead heading into halftime.

The Indians retook the lead with a touchdown with under a minute off the clock in the second quarter and never looked back from there. Stephens County would extend its lead with a touchdown just minutes later and then break the Callaway spirits with a fourth touchdown just two minutes before halftime.

Callaway looked to cut into the Indian lead, but quarterback Blake Harrington was called down at the 1-yard line as time expired in the first half. 

After a decent start to the game, the offense struggled to get going. A couple of key interceptions in the second quarter ruined any chance of the Cavaliers offense getting some momentum going in the first half.

The Callaway defense made some adjustments to start the second half, forgoing a punt on the first possession of the third quarter. The Cavalier offense would repay the defense’s effort when Harrington found the end zone with 5:33 left in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 28-13 after the extra point was blocked. 

The touchdown was set up by a key fourth down conversion from Harrington to Bryceton Sanders.

After a bad snap on a punt from the Indians on the ensuing drive, Callaway took over at the 20-yard line and quickly found the end zone when Harrington scored his second touchdown of the night.

The comeback was on until it wasn’t. The Indians got a back-breaking touchdown on a 17-yard run with just under 10 minutes to go in the game. 

The Cavaliers were not going down without a fight. Harrington found Xae Anderson for a short touchdown with six minutes left on the clock. 

Callaway would block a punt on the ensuing Indians’ drive and Harrington would find Sanders in the end zone for a touchdown, but the two-point conversion would come up short as the Cavaliers trailed 35-33 with 4:18 on the clock.

After the game Wiggins reflected on his seniors who ended their Callaway career on Friday night.

“That’s a great group. There’s about 10 of them that have had to overcome a lot,” Wiggins said smiling. “I’m proud of them.”

The last time the Cavaliers bowed out in the second round of the state playoffs was in 2015. Callaway will look to regroup and get after it in 2025 without some of the key contributors from this year’s team, including but not limited to seniors Kavius Leonard, BreShun Hall and Buggs.