The Helias Crusaders have put together a potent offensive attack during the past several seasons.
Except when they meet Hickman. The Kewpies seem to be the Crusaders' kryptonite.
"I don't think we've scored more than the mid-20s against Hickman in the last few years," Helias coach Phil Pitts said as the Crusaders (3-0, ranked No. 2 in Class 4) prepared for tonight's game against the Kewpies (0-3) in Columbia. "We're looking to do a little better than that this time.
"We've never had a big game against Hickman and we're challenging our offense to get that done against a defense that is always sound and does things right."
Hickman has won the last three meetings against Helias, with the last two games being particularly painful for the Crusaders.
"Take nothing away from Hickman, but we think we should have won this game the past couple of years," Pitts said. "This senior group has never beaten Hickman on the varsity level and they want a win."
Two years ago, a 12th man on defense in the final minute helped the Kewpies hold off the Crusaders in Columbia. Last year at Adkins Stadium, Helias led 20-0 at the half before Hickman rallied for a win.
"For some reason, it's a game we haven't played all that well in," Pitts said. "We need to make sure we take care of ourselves and play a good game (tonight)."
The Crusaders are expecting to see the Kewpies' best effort.
"It's a gigantic game for them," Pitts said. "I'm sure they've talked about how tough their schedule has been to start the season against teams like C.B.C., Lee's Summit and Jeff City.
"I'm sure they're thinking this is a chance to turn things around and we're going to expect to see their very best effort."
The Kewpies are led by quarterback Carter Nicoli. The junior leads Hickman in rushing with 285 yards and three touchdowns.
"He's everything to their offense," Pitts said. "When they need a big play, he's the one they look toward."
A lot of those yards have come when Nicoli has made something out of seemingly nothing.
"We're going to have to make sure we do a good job of containing him," Pitts said. "He has the ability to make plays on busted plays. You see a play that you think shouldn't work and he makes it work."
The Kewpies have run the ball on nearly 80 percent of their offensive snaps this season. But just when Hickman has lulled a defense to sleep with the run game, Nicoli has shown the ability to make the big play with a pass.
"They run a play-action and they hit a long one on you if you aren't careful," Pitts said. "We need to make sure we remember our keys. We stay in the right place and make the play we need to make. If we can do that, we should be OK."
Nicoli is just 12-of-25 through the air this season, but is averaging a little more than 10 yards per completion.
"We need to make them drive the field on us, not give up the big play," Pitts said.
Hickman is the first of three Class 6 opponents for Helias this season.
"One of our goals is to win all of our Class 6 games this year and if we do that, we will be making a strong statement," Pitts said.
The game is also important for the Crusaders in terms of Mid-Missouri bragging rights.
"We take games against area teams very seriously," Pitts said. "We want to be the best football team in the area and this is a chance for us to show it."
Helias is coming off a 35-7 win against Bishop Althoff last Saturday in Belleville, Ill.
"It was good for our team to go through the experience of being on the road against a quality opponent," Pitts said. "We had a chance to test ourselves and I was happy with the way we played."
The Helias defense was outstanding against an Althoff offensive attack with size and speed.
"Our defense gave us a team effort," Pitts said. "We got a lot of pressure on them and it really shut them down."
Game time is 7 p.m.
Notes: After opening the season with three straight Saturday games, this is Helias' first Friday game. ... Pitts said the Crusaders will be at full-strength for tonight's game. A few players were limited in practice this week as a precaution, he said. ... This game will start the Columbia-centric portion of the Crusaders' schedule. Helias will host Battle on Saturday, Sept. 20. Then after a game at St. James Academy in Lenexa, Kan., Helias will return to Columbia for a game against Rock Bridge ... The start time has been set for Helias' home game with Rockhurst. The contest will start at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 9.
Read the latest issue of Goal Lines previewing this weekend's area high school football.
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