HANNIBAL - A furious late rally came up just short Friday night as the Helias Crusaders dropped a 21-14 decision to the Hannibal Pirates in the Class 4 District 7 championship game.
Down 21-7, Helias stopped a Hannibal drive by recovering a fumble on a second-and-goal play in the end zone for a touchback.
A 34-yard pass on the next play, from Curtis Campbell to Zach Stiles, moved the Crusaders into Pirate territory. Six plays later, Jacob Storms scored from 4 yards out and Sam Heckart's PAT cut the Helias deficit to 21-14.
Storms then recovered the ensuing onside kick by Heckart for Helias. The Crusaders got down inside the Pirate 20 before turning the ball over on downs.
The Pirates then got two first downs, one on a 34-yard run up the middle on a third-and-14 play, to run out the clock and win the district title.
On the game's first possession, Helias downed a punt at the Hannibal 4. Three plays later, Hannibal quarterback Trevor Watson sprinted 88 yards for a touchdown. He added the PAT and the Pirates led 7-0 with 8:27 left in the first quarter.
Watson finished with a game-high 142 rushing yards on 13 carries in the game, including 118 on nine carries in the first half.
The Pirates doubled their advantage with 9:03 left in the first half when Watson hit Ricky Lawson with a 75-yard touchdown pass. Watson followed with another PAT kick.
The score came on first down after a Hannibal interception.
Helias got on the board with 1:27 remaining in the half.
The Crusaders stopped a Pirate drive at the Hannibal 35. Three plays later, Helias quarterback Chandler Luebbert took it 61 yards for a touchdown. Heckart's PAT made it 14-7 at intermission.
Hannibal stretched its lead to 21-7 in the final minute of the third quarter. The Pirates went 60 yards in 11 plays, with Shamar Griffith taking it over from 6 yards out. Watson's third PAT of the contest pushed Hannibal's lead to 14 points.
Helias finished with 290 yards of offense Friday night.
Luebbert finished with six carries for a team-high 70 yards, while Storms totaled 60 yards on the ground on 10 carries. Helias finished 2-of-11 for 50 yards passing with two interceptions.
Hannibal totaled 420 yards in the contest, with 283 of that coming on the ground. Griffith added 93 yards on 25 carries for the Pirates (10-2, No. 2 in the final regular-season Missouri Media Rankings).
Hannibal will travel to Kearney for the quarterfinals. Kearney (11-1, ranked No. 1) defeated Platte County 58-41 on Friday night.
Helias, which had its season end for the second straight season at Hannibal, ends with a record of 7-5.