It promises to be a special day for a special group.
On Saturday afternoon, the Helias Crusaders will honor their 14 seniors with Senior Day prior to the Class 4 District 7 opener against the Wentzville Liberty Eagles. The 14 will all be in the starting lineup for the 1 p.m. contest at Adkins Stadium.
"Those guys have done everything we've asked of them over the past four years," Pitts said. "We don't always get the opportunity to do something like this, and I feel blessed that we have the chance to honor them like this. They've earned it."
They have been a part of two state runner-up teams in Class 4 with a chance to go deep in the postseason again this season.
"You can't have a successful program without a good group of seniors because they are leaders not only on the field, but off of it," Pitts said.
It will be the 40th varsity game for 13 of the seniors dating back to the start of their sophomore seasons. Hale Hentges, the Alabama recruit, will be making his 50th career start in his 52nd game with the Crusaders.
"That's a lot of football games," Pitts said. "These guys have a lot of experience."
The 14 have seen a lot, studied a lot, been through a lot as a group.
"You can't fool them, you can't trick them," Pitts said. "There's not a lot they haven't seen or been through the past couple of years. It's great to have a team like that as a coach.
"These guys don't forget a lot. Sometimes, they remind us as coaches of things. It's a special trait as a team."
On the flip side, experience will be in short supply on the Wentzville Liberty sideline.
Wentzville Liberty opened as a school in 2013 with just a freshman class. So the 2014 team, totaling 35 players, is made up of just sophomores and freshmen. The Eagles wanted to play varsity football in 2015, but since that is the second year in a two-year Missouri State High School Activities cycle, they're part of the playoffs in 2014.
Helias enters the game with a record of 8-1. Wentzville Liberty is 1-7. The Crusaders enter the contest ranked No. 2 in Class 4. The Eagles might be the third-best team in their hometown.
This one has the potential to get ugly.
"We have to be mature about this game, have the proper attitude and respect for this game," Pitts said. "We need to do the right things and honor what Liberty is doing."
The Eagles are allowing an average of 47.3 points per game this season, while scoring a total of 68.
Stone Krogman has rushed for a team-high 476 yards (4.3 avg.), while quarterback Ryan Bermudez is next with 222 (3.2). Krogman, Bermudez and Brant McCain have all rushed for two touchdowns.
Bermudez is 25-of-61 through the air for 350 yards and five touchdowns to go along with four interceptions. Brian Jones is the top receiver for the Eagles, catching 16 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns.
"They wanted to get ready for next year, this might be a game they can point to next year as they continue to develop as a program," Pitts said.
For Helias, the focus is on perfection for 48 minutes Saturday.
"We want to go out there and try to be perfect in our execution," Pitts said. "That's going to be our big challenge. It's going to put some pressure on us, give them something to strive for.
"We have to focus on us, get better on the things we need to improve on. We're going to run the plays on offense we need to get better at, we're going to call the defensive formations we need to get better at."
That has started on the practice field.
"We amped things up in practice, we challenged the players, we had a lot more best-on-best stuff than usual," Pitts said. "It will be good for us."
The Crusaders are the district's top seed and would host all its district games. Helias is looking to extend its streak of 21 straight district victories on its way to seven consecutive district titles.
"We wanted to be the No. 1 seed, it's something we've been looking toward the entire season," Pitts said. "It's why we play the schedule we play, we want to get better each and every week.
"We think this is our time."
This is the first year of the new playoff schedule. In the past, Helias has had to play three games in 15 days. Now, Class 4 games are scheduled for either Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
"Having gone through this nine years as an assistant or a head coach, I think this new system is great," Pitts said. "In the past, we've been trying to squeeze in some time off. This is a blessing for the players, for the coaches, for all of our families. It's like a normal week."
III
With a win Saturday, Helias would host the winner of the game between fourth-seeded Warrenton and fifth-seeded Moberly in the district semifinals. The date of that game depends on what Jefferson City does in its district opener tonight against Hickman. ... In the other District 7 games, second-seeded Hannibal will host seventh-seeded Kirksville and No. 3 Mexico will host No. 6 Marshall. ... With one touchdown reception, Hentges would have the Helias career record. He is currently tied at 26 with his uncle, Mike Hentges. "I know it's real special for both of them," Pitts said. ... Helias is healthy for the game. ... Wentzville Liberty's lone win was a 19-0 decision Oct. 3 against Barat Academy.
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