Thunder win top-7 showdown with Cardinals

By ANTHONY CRANE

The Forum

GRAHAM, Mo. – It had the potential to be one of the best district matchups of the 2026 season, and Friday night’s matchup between the Nodaway Valley Thunder and North Andrew Cardinals lived up to that hype, combining for 128 points in a 70-58 Nodaway Valley win that secured a spot in next week’s District 6 championship.

“I was proud of the way our kids fought and didn’t get down on things when they could have and just continued to battle all the way to the end,” Thunder coach Alan Calfee said.

Nodaway Valley was set to open the game with the ball, but the Cardinals seemed intent on Tye Hoyt not getting the ball with two kicks out of bounds. The Thunder again asked for the re-kick after the second penalty, but this time an onside kick gave recovery gave North Andrew the ball.

The Cardinals offense picked up two first downs on their first five runs. On the eighth run of the drive, quarterback Levi McAfee broke around the left side for a 14-yard touchdown run to put North Andrew ahead 8-0.

“It’s tough to start by giving them the momentum,” Calfee said. “Their offense is tough with them running the ball and taking time off the clock.”

The Thunder were a little less methodical on their first drive. Quarterback Braxton McGinness converted a fourth down to set up the first of Jax Cowden’s five touchdowns in the game.

North Andrew sophomore Jacob Hill swung the momentum back in North Andrew’s direction with a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff. But as they did throughout the night, the Nodaway Valley offense answered when called upon.

Starting deep in their own territory, senior Tye Hoyt gave the Thunder a little more breathing room with a 32-yard gain on a jet sweep. McGinness then connected with Cowden for a 22-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14.

“Everybody is battling, both teams, and it was getting a little chippy,” McGinness said. “But that’s a good way to play because it brings everybody’s game up a little bit. When people start talking, it makes you want to play better.”

The Cardinals looked destined to pull ahead on their next drive and eventually found themselves with a first and goal inside the 10. But the defense of Nodaway Valley responded, forcing a turnover on downs at their own two-yard line.

The trio of McGinness, Cowden and Hoyt combined to make another long drive short. Hoyt’s 18 yards got the Thunder out of danger, then a McGinness found Cowden with a moon ball that ended in a 59-yard touchdown.

The defense carried that momentum into the next drive, forcing a three-and-out. North Andrew tried to disguise their punt on fourth down where the Thunder came up with the block. A few plays later, Hoyt scored on a 21-yard touchdown to put Nodaway Valley ahead 28-14 with 10:02 left in the half.

“A lot of momentum coming our way after that stop,” Cowden said. “It pumped us up and we were able to go down and score on the next drive.”

North Andrew wasted little time making it a one-score game again as McAfee connected with Isaac Coats on the Cardinals’ first play of the drive for a 47-yard touchdown.

Aside from the end of the half and game, the Thunder had just two drives that didn’t end with six points. One of those drives came after the Coats touchdown as they punted the ball back to North Andrew.

Just four minutes after his first touchdown, McAfee again went to Coats, this time on a tight-end screen over the middle. The senior did the heavy lifting after that, scoring from 44 yards out to tie the game at 29 with 5:55 left in the first half.

Cowden put Nodaway Valley back in front with his fourth touchdown run of the half with 1:06 left in the second quarter. But special teams again bit the Thunder as Ruger Herbert returned the opening kick of the second half back for a touchdown.

“We have to evaluate film and continue to work on those things,” Calfee said. “We work on those things, but we have to be able to translate that to game situations. We definitely have to clean those things up, especially with Rock Port next week and Jack Meyerkorth being one of the best returners in the state.”

From there, it was a continuation of those same players from the first half trading touchdowns once again in the second half. Hoyt scored on a short run just over two minutes later to make it 42-34.

After the Hoyt score, McAfee continued to hit the Coats’ button. Coats caught a 42-yard pass, setting up a Hebert touchdown. The rapid pace continued as Hoyt’s touchdown with 7:00 left in the third was the fourth score in the first five minutes.

The Cardinals brought the pace way down after the Hoyt score. North Andrew’s next drive took up almost seven minutes of game time with three fourth down conversions mixed in there, including a 29-yard touchdown pass to Coats on fourth and nine.

Ahead 48-46, McGinness again used his favorite targets. With a third-and-10 deep in their own end of the field, McGinness found Hoyt with a deep pass into Cardinals’ territory, setting up Cowden’s fifth touchdown of the day.

“If the other team is scoring, you have to be able to score back,” McGinness said. “They were scoring, so we had to be absolutely perfect. We stopped them a few times and we were able to go score and that’s all we could do was keep scoring.”

The score put Nodaway Valley ahead 56-46 early in the fourth quarter. Even with time not on their side, North Andrew started its next drive with the run game. The Cardinals worked their way to near midfield before finding themselves with a fourth-and-two and the game on the line.

McAfee faked the run and found Coats in the back of the end zone for a 44-yard touchdown. The game’s top two receivers kept trading big plays as Hoyt put the Thunder back ahead two scores with a 32-yard touchdown at the 5:35 mark.

On North Andrew’s next drive, Coats added a 29-yard catch to his night, getting the ball to the Nodaway Valley one. McAfee snuck it in one play later to make it 64-58 with 3:13 remaining.

But the Cardinals had no answer for Hoyt in the second half as the senior closed the game out with a 27-yard touchdown.

“We did a great job of mixing it up on offense,” Cowden said. “The offensive line did a great job and Braxton did a good job getting the ball out.”

McGinness finished 16-of-29 for 315 yards with four touchdowns while adding 12 carries for 110 yards. Hoyt led the team in rushing with 14 carries for 149 yards.

Cowden led the team with 172 yards on seven receptions, while Hoyt caught eight passes for 136 yards.

The Thunder earned their ninth win of the season and will now face Rock Port next week for the District 6 championship. The two teams combined for 152 points in Rock Port’s 92-60 win. The Blue Jays are 10-0 after a 56-0 win over Platte Valley Friday night.

“We gotta be able to stop them, that’s really it,” McGinness said. “Defense, defense, defense.”