The little things could add up to something big Saturday night.
"We are on the verge of doing those little things that will allow us to play with anyone in the state," Helias coach Tim Rulo said as the Crusaders prepared for Saturday night's Homecoming game against the St. James Academy Thunder from Lenexa, Kan.
"I truly believe that. Once we do those things, we will be successful year in and year out."
Rulo has been impressed by the way the Thunder - 3-0 and ranked No. 5 in Class 5A in Kansas - go about their business on the football field.
"They do the little things a quality program should do," Rulo said.
The Thunder have outscored their opponents 114-18 this season.
On offense, St. James Academy uses a strong running game to control its opponents. The Thunder are averaging almost 255 yards on the ground per game.
"They're going to be physical, they are going to try to run the football," Rulo said. "They get after you."
Jake Burgemeier (5-foot-11, 204 pounds) leads that ground game. The senior has run for 355 yards (7.7 avg.) and five touchdowns this season. Dylan Streeter (6-0, 185, jr.) is averaging nearly seven yards per carry with three touchdowns.
"They run down hill, they are always going to fall forward and get those extra two or three yards," Rulo said.
Senior quarterback Trey Keith gets in on the rushing action as well, totaling five yards per carry with a touchdown. Keith is 22-of-39 passing for 321 yards and a touchdown. His favorite target is Mason Dunsmore, who has 14 receptions for 180 yards.
Rulo said St. James reminds him of Nixa and Hannibal, Helias' first two opponents this season.
"They aren't as big up front, but it's an offense that is big on establishing the run," he said. "You have to stop the run against these guys."
The Thunder, who have one shutout this season, have impressed Rulo on the defensive side, especially by the inside linebacker duo of senior Nick Pate (5-7, 190) and junior Bryce Steffens (6-0, 220).
"They are the best combo of inside linebackers we've seen," Rulo said.
Special teams may be the difference Saturday night. Keith has converted on both of his field-goal attempts this season, while Helias has the strong right leg of Sam Heckart, who booted a school-record 47-yard field goal in a 39-6 win against Hickman two weeks ago.
"We are so similar, I think you need something to bring yourself over the top and that may be in the special teams," Rulo said.
The Helias defense has made great strides the past two weeks after struggling at the start of the season.
"It was trying to find the right mix of scheme and players and I think the players are getting more comfortable as well," Rulo said.
Rulo believes the team played its best half of defense of the season in the second half last Friday against Battle.
"We want to build on that," Rulo said.
The biggest factor in the improvement has come with the play of the Crusader defensive line.
"The line has really set the tone, you can tell with the tackles being made for loss and really holding down the yardage," Rulo said. "It's a cliche, but it really does start up front in football."
On the offensive side, the Crusaders have averaged just under 35 points per game in the last four contests despite injury woes across the line.
"We're happy with where we're at and we're only going to get better," Rulo said. "I know everybody says that, but it's true here because we're getting more acquainted with things."
Homecoming can be a distraction for a team, but it may be coming at a good time of the season.
"It will hopefully focus us at a time of the year when things can get a little tough," Rulo said. "Our focus has been good. Coaches can get nervous about Homecoming, but the kids know the game is important. Enjoy yourself, but players need to get better at practice during the week and I think we've done that this week."
As the Crusaders (1-4) hit the mid-point of their first season under Rulo, he can see things beginning to gel.
"They are seeing the fruits of that labor on the field and hopefully it will show up more and more on the scoreboard," he said. "We see so much potential, we want to squeeze as much out of it we can and hopefully that will lead to great things in the second half of the season."
Game time is 7 p.m.
Notes: Missouri starts its football season two weeks before Kansas, which explains why Helias has played two more games than St. James Academy. ... Helias' four losses have come to teams with a combined record of 17-2. Both of the losses are by Nixa and they came against Webb City, ranked No. 1 in Class 4, and Francis Howell, ranked No. 2 in Class 6. St. James Academy's three opponents have a combined record of 2-9. ... Helias was a 21-0 winner in last year's meeting with St. James Academy in Kansas. The Crusaders outgained the Thunder 351-155. ... Helias will be at home again next Saturday against Rock Bridge. The start time of that game has been moved to 4 p.m.
Helias hosts St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.) at 7 p.m. Saturday - Updates on Twitter: @tjrackers.
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