The Hannibal Pirates scored four touchdowns in the fourth quarter Friday night to rally for a 41-28 victory against the Helias Crusaders in the first-ever game at Ray Hentges Stadium.
"Our guys gave it everything they had," Helias coach Tim Rulo said.
An 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Zach Woehr with 3:10 to go in the third quarter gave the Crusaders a 28-14 lead.
But the Pirates came back to score on a 1-yard run by quarterback Wyatt Waelder on the first play of the fourth quarter to trim the Helias lead to 28-21.
Helias then went 3-and-out on its next series, but a 42-yard punt by Carson Stieferman pinned Hannibal back at its own 6.
After a 2-yard loss, a streak of lightning to the north brought a halt to the game. The delay lasted nearly an hour.
It was all Hannibal after that.
The Pirates needed just four plays to go 96 yards, with the score coming on a 45-yard run around and through the Crusader defense by JaQuez McGruder. The PAT knotted the game at 28 with 7:18 remaining.
Helias' next drive ended with a fumble as Hannibal took over at its own 37.
Three plays later, Kevin Campbell of the Pirates went 22 yards for a score and Hannibal had its first lead of the night at 35-28 with 4:29 to play.
The Crusaders advanced the ball to midfield on their next series before giving it up on downs at their own 49.
On the next play, Campbell scooted 49 yards for a touchdown. The PAT failed and it was 41-28 with 1:06 left.
Helias got the ball down to the Hannibal 19 before throwing an interception on a tipped ball with less than 10 seconds to play.
The Crusaders threw six passes in the game, all in the final 1:30. Helias completed one, that one going for 34 yards to Nathan Bax.
Blake Veltrop got the Crusaders on the board, capping the first series of the game with a 59-yard run. Vito Calvaruso booted the first of his four PATs and it was 7-0.
Hannibal tied it with 1:46 left in the quarter on a 70-yard pass from Gabe Worthington to Will Whitaker.
Daniel Rhea's 5-yard run with 5:39 to go before halftime gave Helias a 14-7 advantage at the break.
Veltrop then scored on a 62-yard run with 8:44 to play in the third quarter to stretch Helias' lead to 21-7. That was the second of two plays the Crusaders ran on offense the entire quarter.
Hannibal got back to within one score on a 1-yard run by Waelder with 3:22 to go in the third.
The Pirates, normally a run-dominated team, completed 10-of-15 passes for 266 yards in the game. Hannibal picked up an additional 273 yards on the ground to finish with 539 total yards and 18 first downs.
Helias finished with 262 total yards, 228 on the ground. Veltrop led the way with 172 yards on 11 carries.
The Pirates have now beaten the Crusaders in their last five meetings. This was the first of those five in Jefferson City.
Helias (0-1) will play at Kansas City Southeast next Saturday. Game time is 4 p.m.