There was no doubt.
After a Harrisonville touchdown pulled the Wildcats to within a point of Helias at 21-20 with a little more than three minutes remaining Friday night, it faced a decision.
Go for the tie and kick the extra point or try for two and potentially win it.
"We knew what they were going to do it," Helias coach Phil Pitts said.
But the Crusaders couldn't stop it. Wildcats quarterback Zach Davidson ran for the 2-point conversion as Harrisonville posted a 22-21 victory against Helias at Adkins Stadium.
"That's not what cost us the game," Pitts said. "We had several opportunities earlier in the game to put it away and we didn't do it."
After Davidson scored on the game's first possession, Helias answered with touchdowns on its next two possessions. The scores came on a pair of Wyatt Porter passes - 25 yards to Hale Hentges and 34 yards to Brock Gerstner.
That was all the scoring in the first half. Helias had two other possessions in the half with the ball at least at the Harrisonville 25, but came away empty.
"We can't afford to lose opportunities like that," Pitts said.
Helias stretched its lead to 21-7 midway through the third quarter on a 27-yard scoring pass from Porter to Michael Tannehill.
But that was the lone offensive highlight in the second half for the Crusaders. Helias managed just 137 yards in the final two quarters, including a minus-2 yards rushing on 15 run attempts.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats got their running game into high gear in the second half.
A 10-yard run by Austin Hopper late in the third quarter pulled Harrisonville to within 21-14. Hopper then scored on a 44-yard gallop late in the fourth quarter to set up the winning 2-point try.
Harrisonville ran for 272 yards in the game, paced by Hopper's 105. Davidson added 94.
"We gave them opportunities to do what they do well and that's run the football," Pitts said.
Porter finished 12-of-25 passing for 217 yards and three scores for Helias. Gerstner led the way with five receptions for 145 yards. Porter led the team in rushing with 19 carries for 86 yards.
Helias (0-1, ranked No. 2 in Class 4) is back in action next Saturday at home against Sedalia Smith-Cotton. Game time is 7 p.m. Harrisonville, No. 3 in Class 4, is now 1-0.
Follow News Tribune sports reporter Tom Rackers on Twitter at @tjrackers and News Tribune sports coverage at @NTsports.