COLUMBIA, Mo. - It was going about as well as the Helias Crusaders could expect.
Helias trailed state-ranked Rock Bridge just 3-0 after one quarter and 17-14 at the half Friday night using their one-way starters for the first time.
"I think it was a very good first half, we were executing our game plan," Hentges said. "We were keeping our kids fresh, we were getting the opportunity to talk to the kids to make corrections immediately."
But then came the third quarter.
"They had way too many big plays in the third quarter and they got away from us," Hentges said after the Bruins scored four touchdowns in the quarter on their way to a 52-28 victory against the Crusaders.
Most of those big plays came courtesy of Stanford commit Nate Peat. After picking up 84 yards on 12 carries in the first half, the Rock Bridge senior had nine carries for 261 yards and three touchdowns in the third quarter.
"We knew he was an exceptional running back," Hentges said.
Peat went 60 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the third quarter. He then scored from 55 yards out on Rock Bridge's next possession before going 28 yards for a touchdown the next time the Bruins had the ball.
After a 51-yard touchdown pass from Grant Hajicek to Martez Mauel in the final minute of the third quarter, Helias' halftime deficit of three points had ballooned to 17 at 45-28 heading into the fourth.
Peat finished with 378 yards on 26 carries. He also had a 64-yard reception for a touchdown early in the second quarter.
Rock Bridge finished with 621 yards of offense, more than half of which came in the third quarter.
The final 24-point margin somewhat covers up what was Helias' best effort in recent weeks.
"We took a step forward," Hentges said. "I know it may not look like it when you see the score, but we did.
"All we ask is that they play hard on every play and they did."
The Crusaders threw for a season-high 321 yards. Jake Weaver was 21-of-36 through the air for 283 yards and a pair of touchdowns while being sacked just twice.
"Our offensive line did a very good job of protecting Jake," Hentges said.
Helias often used a five-wide formation on offense Friday night.
"We were kind of rolling the dice doing that, we knew that would leave them with one guy unblocked," Hentges said. "But we needed to get our skills guys in space, we had to make our hay on the outside."
Jason Binkley paced Helias' receivers with six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.
"Jason is our best route runner, he's really sharp on his breaks," Hentges said. "He was big in our offensive success."
Helias also got a touchdown pass from senior running back Zach Covington, who threw a 36-yard strike to Adam Wilbers in the third quarter.
"We saw Zach's arm in practice," Hentges said. "It was a play we put in during the week."
It was a great catch by Wilbers, who finished with two touchdown catches among his five receptions.
"Adam made a great catch," Hentges said. "Rock Bridge had a guy on him, but Adam did a great job of bringing it in."
Hentges knew Helias would have trouble running the ball Friday night, but was looking for more than 50 yards on 30 carries.
"I wish we could have been a little more consistent on the ground, but their defense had a lot to do with that," Hentges said. "They really shut off our inside run game."
Rock Bridge (6-2) is No. 6 in Class 6 in the Missouri Media Rankings. One of its two losses is to De Smet, ranked No. 5 in Class 6, who will visit Ray Hentges Stadium on Friday night to close out the regular season.
"We need to build on this game, we need to do the same thing next week against De Smet," Hentges said. "They are big challenges for us, but if we handle them the right way, we can be a much better team for districts."
Game time is 7 p.m. Friday.
Helias (3-5) is fifth in the Class 4 District 8 standings after Friday night. It appears the Crusaders will open district play at fourth-seeded Union (6-2) on Oct. 26.