You could see it coming. That didn't make it any easier to watch.
Adkins Stadium was the scene of some football carnage in a 24-hour span Friday and Saturday.
Jefferson City 83, Springfield Central 6.
Helias 56, Kansas City Southeast 6.
That's 139-12. That's an awful lot for the winning teams and just awful for the losing ones.
Why play these games? Springfield Central is a Class 5 program that has been down for several years and Southeast (or African Centered College Preparatory Academy as it is called on the Missouri State High School Activities Association website), is a Class 3 program trying to gain stability.
The answer is easy. When you're Jefferson City and Helias, it's difficult to find schools that will agree to play. They hear reasons like travel concerns, why come to Jefferson City when they can find games much closer to home. And then there's the fact the Jays and the Crusaders are pretty good most of the time.
So there are a lot of seasons you have to take what is presented to you. The football schedule changes every two years. Jefferson City and Helias are already trying to fill the schedule for the 2018-19 seasons. And searching far and wide to do it.
The Jays have played out-of-state opponents for several years, while the Crusaders have ventured into Kansas and Illinois in recent seasons. Helias was in contact with schools from six states trying to fill Saturday's spot on its schedule, but to no avail.
And would a week off have been any better? There are just nine weeks in the regular season, I can see the logic in maybe taking a week off late in the season to rest and heal any injuries. But week 2? You're still trying to find yourself as a football team.
But let's get back to Friday and Saturday. Anybody who thinks the Jays and the Crusaders ran up the score either wasn't there or wasn't paying attention.
In the fourth quarter Friday, the Jays were running the quarterback between the tackles. Late in the second quarter Saturday, Helias took a knee deep in Southeast territory with a 42-0 lead.
That's not running it up on your opponent.
The wide margins allowed players who normally don't see the field in a varsity contest. Those guys practice every day, working against the starters to make them better. Those players deserve whatever opportunities come their way.
A couple of years ago, I was talking with a coach before a first-round district game that had blowout written all over it. He told me he had talked to a coach who had led his team to several state titles about his concerns the game was going to get out of hand early. Which it did.
The other coach said, "It is your responsibility to do what's best for your team, not the other team."
That's pretty sound advice.
The bottom line is this. Springfield Central called Jefferson City to play. Southeast called Helias to play.
If there's somebody to be angry with, it's the person who made those phone calls. Not the one who answered.