SULLIVAN, Mo. - There might have been no group more frustrated at halftime Friday night than the offensive line of the Helias Crusaders.
Helias and Sullivan entered intermission scoreless, with barely 100 total yards between them.
"The offensive line at the half was just champing at the bit wanting to get back out there and run the ball," Helias coach Tim Rulo said. "We knew we could do it."
And they did. The Crusaders scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, then did a good job of controlling the clock in the fourth on their way to a 14-7 win against the Eagles to close the regular season.
"We got on the backs of our offensive line and we were able to take care of business," Rulo said.
Sullivan, which had 59 yards in the first half, eclipsed that total on its first play from scrimmage in the third quarter when Troy Creek took the handoff 70 yards for a touchdown. The PAT gave Sullivan a 7-0 lead just :17 into the second half.
But that was the only blip in a solid defensive night for the Crusaders. Sullivan managed just 89 yards on its other 38 carries. The Eagles entered the contest averaging more than 250 yards rushing per game.
"Our defense had a great game," Rulo said. "We used a couple of new defensive fronts and disrupted what they wanted to do."
The Crusaders answered the score with a one of their own. Helias went 65 yards in 10 plays, the first nine runs to get the ball to the Sullivan 15. Chandler Luebbert, the fourth Helias starting quarterback this season due to injuries, hit Jacob Storms in the back of the end zone from 15 yards out for the score.
Because of injuries to some of the specialists in the kicking game, Helias went for the 2-point conversion. The pass failed and Sullivan led 7-6.
"We're going to keep fighting," Rulo said.
The drive came after a 48-yard performance in the first half for the Crusaders.
"Sullivan schemed us very well and had a good game-plan in place," Rulo said. "You can't get into second-and-long and third-and-long, it makes it tough."
Sullivan fumbled the ball back to Helias on its next possession near midfield. The Crusaders drove to the Eagle 25 before penalties pushed them back to the 39.
Helias punter Nash Harvey then kicked a ball inside the Sullivan 10 than rolled toward the end zone before Jordan Kemple downed it at the 1.
"That was a great punt by Nash," Rulo said.
It was three-and-out for Sullivan and the ensuing punt went all of 14 yards under a heavy Helias rush and the Crusaders took over at the 19.
Six runs later, Jake Burnett took it over from 2 yards out on fourth down. Nolan Sachse then ran for the 2-point conversion and Helias led 14-7 with less than a minute to go in the third quarter.
The Helias defense took over from there. In Sullivan's final three possessions, the Eagles managed just two first downs. And one of those was by penalty.
The Crusaders essentially iced the game with an eight-play drive that ran almost 4 minutes off the clock late in the contest. The Eagles (5-4) got the ball back at their own 31 with :30 left, but could only get out to the 39 as time expired.
Injuries again proved costly for Helias as running back Malik Davis, receiver Kale Gerstner and lineman Cole Johnson all left the game and did not return.
"The injury bug just keeps biting us and biting us," Rulo said.
Helias (3-6) finished fourth in Class 4 District 7 with 34.95 points, just .02 behind third-place Warrenton, and will host fifth-place Wentzville: Liberty (4-4) in the opening round of the postseason Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start at Adkins Stadium.