The Helias Crusaders got some defensive stops in the second half.
But not the last one.
Monroe City drove 80 yards in the final 1:48 Friday night for the game-winning touchdown as the Panthers topped the Crusaders 34-28 at Ray Hentges Stadium.
"I figured this was going to be a really close game," Helias coach Chris Hentges said. "They're a good football program, hats off to them, they played a very good game."
A 6-yard touchdown run by Helias quarterback Jake Weaver and the extra point by Vito Calvaruso pulled the Crusaders into a tie at 28 with less than two minutes to play.
"We almost scored too fast on that drive," Hentges said. "But you score when you can score. You can't stop after 2 yards or anything, you have to score."
Calvaruso's kickoff went into the end zone and Monroe City had the ball at its own 20. Five running plays had the Panthers in Crusader territory at the 29.
"I thought they were playing for overtime, but they kept getting 10 or more yards," Hentges said.
Helias got a stop for no gain on the next play, after which the officials ruled more than six extra seconds had run off the clock and added back that time. It was one of two occasions time was added back on the clock on the drive.
After an incompletion, a run and two passes and Monroe City had the ball at the Helias 4 with :01.4 left.
Zach Osborn then took a handoff on an inside sweep around the right side and barrelled into the end zone for the game-winning score with :00.0 on the clock. The Panthers took a knee on the extra point attempt, then celebrated their victory.
The Panthers' wing-T offense confounded the Crusaders for much of the night.
Monroe City scored on its first four possessions on drives of 80, 85, 61 and 72 yards.
The Panthers ended the half with 229 rushing yards on 31 carries and 55 more yards passing and 11 first downs.
Monroe City junior running back Keenan Batsell had 23 carries in the first half for 182 yards and three touchdowns. The scores came on runs of 55, 6 and 6 yards as the Panthers led 20-0.
The Panthers made it 28-0 with 1:07 remaining in the half on a 23-yard pass from Blake Hays to Kaelin Kendrick-O'Bryan. Batsell added the 2-point conversion.
Helias needed just three plays to get on the board before halftime, with the score coming on a 2-yard pass from Weaver to Griffin Buschjost with :25.1 left.
Monroe City took a pair of knees to end the half, the only time it had the ball in the first two quarters it didn't score.
The Crusaders made it 28-14 on the first possession of the third quarter. The touchdown came on a 25-yard pass from Weaver to Adam Wilbers.
Helias made it 28-21 with 7:52 remaining on a 14-yard run by Weaver.
The Crusaders then went 92 yards to tie the game. Weaver had six carries for 84 of those yards on the drive.
Batsell led Monroe City (6-1, ranked No. 7 in Class 2) with 276 rushing yards on 41 attempts. Osborn finished with 106 on 14 carries. For the game, the Panthers rushed 68 times for 435 yards. Hays finished 6-of-9 passing for 127 yards.
Weaver was 8-of-16 passing for 140 yards while topping the Crusaders in rushing with 120 yards on 15 attempts. Helias ran the ball 28 times for 190 yards.
Helias (3-4) will play next Friday at Rock Bridge. Game time is 7 p.m.