WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The Helias Crusaders knew what they were going to do in Friday night's Jamboree.
The Crusaders charted out who was going to play, when they were going to play, and the offensive plays they were going to run. This was a night to pay special attention to the small details.
"That way we could concentrate on coaching and not worry about play-calling and substitutions," Crusaders head coach Tim Rulo said after Helias tied Centralia and Blair Oaks in action at the Falcon Athletic Complex. "It's a matter of coaching the guys up now and see what we need to get better at."
Rulo, entering in his first season heading the Helias program, thought his team did well in its debut.
"We kept the playbook really small, we maybe called seven different plays, but we handled it well," he said.
The Crusaders finished with 129 total yards of offense in its two sessions.
Helias and Centralia tied at 12 in their Jamboree. The Crusaders' scores came on a 13-yard pass from Alex Faddoul to Adam Bax and a 17-yard run by Jordan Kemple. Helias had 90 yards and three first downs against Centralia.
Defensively, the Crusaders allowed 89 yards and two first downs to the Panthers. Zach Stiles had an interception for Helias against Centralia.
Helias and Blair Oaks ended in a tie at 6, with the Crusaders' score coming on a 19-yard run by Jacob Storms. That run accounted for nearly half of Helias' 39 yards of offense in 17 plays against Blair Oaks.
On the other side, Blair Oaks totaled 103 yards in running 22 plays against the Helias defense.
Defensively, the Crusaders jumped offside four times Friday night.
"You're never happy with penalties," Rulo said. "But the kids are so amped at the start of the season. You want to get better at that and we're going to keep working on that."
Rulo said the guys up front have it the worst of it early on.
"Jamborees are always toughest on the offensive and defensive lines; because you're going against the other teams best guys," Rulo said. "You're not doing that in practice."
The starters received a little more extended action Friday night. Rulo wanted his offense to get more work in its new veer offense, while the defenders are also working in some new formations.
"We let our guys play a few more plays than I normally like because they needed to get the reps," Rulo said. "We saw some good things and we saw some things we need to work on."
Helias will open the regular season Friday at Nixa. Game time is 7 p.m.