A voice boomed out from the stands in the second half Friday night - "Beast Mode."
Percy Mitchell of Vianney had just broken out on one of his multiple runs for double-digit yardage that included contact with several Helias defenders. Beast mode, indeed.
"We couldn't tackle him," Helias coach Chris Hentges said after the Crusaders' 42-7 loss to the Golden Griffins at Ray Hentges Stadium. "He's a big, physical back."
Mitchell dominated the game in the second half. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior finished with 154 yards on the ground - 120 of which came in the final two quarters.
"Their run game just wore us out as the game went on," Hentges said. "They were the better football team tonight."
The Crusaders had limited the Golden Griffins to just 34 yards rushing on 16 attempts in the first half. But Vianney turned to a more straight-forward approach to its ground game in the third and fourth quarters in the rainy conditions and ran for more than 200 yards on 22 attempts.
"(The rain) really favored what they do very well," Hentges said. "Vianney is a very good football team and we're just not there yet. Physically, we've got a ways to go against a team like that."
On the flip side, it was a hindrance to Helias' passing game.
"We knew we had to sling it all over the yard to improve our chances of winning," Hentges said. "We just couldn't get a consistent passing game going.
"The weather gave them an advantage, but we have to play better."
Helias had committed just one turnover in getting off to a 2-0 start to the season. But the Crusaders threw four interceptions and lost three fumbles Friday night while the Griffins did not commit a turnover.
"When you do that, the game will get away from you," Hentges said.
The game was scoreless until the final minute of the first half when two of the turnovers cost the Crusaders.
Keryn Williams of Vianney intercepted a pass to give the Golden Griffins the ball at the Helias 45. Two plays later, Griffin John threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Williams, a Notre Dame recruit, to make it 6-0 with :44.9 left before half.
Helias then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Vianney took over at the Crusader 30. Two plays later, John and Williams hooked up again for a score, this one from 15 yards out. The duo then combined for a 2-point conversion pass and it was 14-0 heading to intermssion.
"That was a really bad last two minutes of the first half," Hentges said. "They capitalized on our mistakes, we can't make mistakes like that."
Hentges said the Crusaders weren't down about the late developments in the locker room during the break.
"Everybody was up at halftime, we had a good focus," he said.
But things didn't get better at the start of the second half. Helias got the ball first, but turned it over on an interception on its third play and Vianney took over at its own 36. Operating at quarterback in a Wildcat formation, Williams took the snap on first down and ran 64 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead.
A short punt on Helias' next possession gave Vianney the ball at the Crusader 25. It took Vianney four plays to score, with the touchdown coming on a 1-yard plunge by Mitchell and the PAT made it 28-0.
"There were a lot of mistakes in the third quarter," Hentges said. "You can't do that against a very good football team and we let the game slip away from us.
"But the kids kept battling."
Helias got on the board with 3:04 remaining in the third quarter when Jake Weaver connected with a wide-open Jason Binkley around midfield and he sprinted to the end zone for the touchdown.
"That was a nice throw and catch," Hentges said.
Vito Calvaruso booted the PAT and it was 35-7.
But any momentum for Helias was snuffed out when Vianney answered with an eight-play, 60-yard drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Mitchell.
Vianney's last score came with 4:46 remaining. After a Helias fumble, Vianney went 57 yards in seven plays for the score. Mitchell ran for 55 of those yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to make it 42-7.
On Helias' next play, Weaver was hit on a running play the Crusader bench thought deserved a penalty for coming out of bounds. There was some pushing and shoving between the two teams and Helias was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and had a player ejected. Before another play was run, the officials brought players from both teams into a huddle in an attempt to calm the situation.
Helias' offensive series ended with a punt and Vianney twice took a knee to run out the clock.
"Where we go from here, how we respond to this adversity will tell us about this football team after this setback," Hentges said.
"There are better days ahead. We just need to regroup, get back to work on being a better football team."
Helias (2-1, No. 9 in Class 4 in the Missouri Media Rankings) will play Friday night at Cardinal Ritter (3-0, ranked No. 2 in Class 3).
Game time is 7 p.m.
Vianney, ranked No. 4 in Class 4, is now 2-1.