HANNIBAL - The Helias Crusaders had their chances in Friday night's Class 4 District 7 championship game against the Hannibal Pirates.
But
"In the end, it just didn't work out the way we wanted," Helias coach Tim Rulo said after the Crusaders dropped a 21-14 decision to the Pirates.
Down 21-7 midway through the fourth quarter, the Crusaders' backs were against the wall as the Pirates were inside the 5 and approaching a three-score lead.
On second-and-goal from the 1, Hannibal quarterback Trevor Watson tried to dive over the pile at the line of scrimmage for the score. But Dylan Gaines punched the ball out before Watson cross the goal line and Jonas Miller recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback to give Helias some life.
"That was so smart by Dylan," Rulo said.
Starting at their own 20, the Crusaders hit the Pirates with a big play as Curtis Campbell completed a 34-yard pass to Zach Stiles to move Helias into Hannibal territory.
A 6-yard run by Stiles was followed by a 22-yard jaunt by Jacob Storms and a 9-yard run by Kaleb Davis to move Helias inside the Pirate 10.
Two plays later, Storms took it over from 4 yards out and Sam Heckart's PAT made it 21-14 with 4:53 left on the clock.
"Kudos to our defense, they put us in a situation to be successful," Rulo said.
Helias thought about starting the second half with an onside kick, but decided to wait.
"Our coaches saw the opportunity," Rulo said. "But we decided to let Sam try to kick it in the end zone."
The time was right after Storms' score.
"Hannibal didn't run out their hands team, so we decided to go for it and it worked," Rulo said.
Heckart's kick was recovered by Storms and Helias was in business in Hannibal territory.
Helias got as far as the Hannibal 19 before the drive stalled. The Pirates then ran out the clock and picked up the victory by running for a pair of first downs.
Hannibal jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half on an 88-yard run by Watson and a 75-yard pass from Watson to Lawson Rickey.
Helias got on the board with 1:27 remaining in the first half on a 61-yard run by Chandler Luebbert.
Hannibal's other score came in the third quarter on a 6-yard run by Shamar Griffith.
Rulo said he was impressed by the resiliency showed Friday night by the Crusaders.
"We kept fighting, kept pushing," Rulo said.
It was Helias' second loss at Hannibal this season. The Pirates defeated the Crusaders 19-14 to open the season, but Rulo believes the similarity in scores doesn't tell the full story.
"That doesn't show the progress we made throughout the season, the growth both on and off the field was a big positive," Rulo said.
As always, it was a difficult walk off the field after the final game of the year.
"You always feel bad for the seniors because you don't want their season to end," Rulo said. "But there are so many great memories, now they have the opportunity to reflect about all thee great things that happened.
"These guys have poured their hearts and souls into being Helias Crusaders and I'm so proud of their efforts. They've made a great impact, both on and off the field."
Helias ends 7-5 in Rulo's second season as head coach.
Hannibal (10-2, No. 2 in the final Missouri Media Rankings) will travel Saturday to Kearney (11-1, ranked No. 1) for the quarterfinals. Game time is 1:30 p.m.