MONROE CITY, Mo. - It was a normal practice Thursday for the Helias Crusaders.
Which could be viewed as a bit odd.
Late in practice Wednesday, Helias starting quarterback Jake Weaver suffered a shoulder injury that figures to sideline him for the remainder of the season. Zach Wolken was now the starting quarterback with only Thursday's practice to prepare for Friday night's game at Monroe City.
"It was just a normal Thursday," Helias coach Chris Hentges said. "We didn't really change the game plan very much, we didn't feel we had to because we are comfortable with Zach back there."
With Wolken behind center, Helias used a four-touchdown outburst in the third quarter Friday night to beat Monroe City 49-24.
"It was a good first start," Hentges said. "There are some things Zach learned tonight and we're confident in him going forward."
Wolken, who ran for a 1-yard touchdown, finished 9-of-15 passing for 172 yards and two touchdowns to go along with one interception.
"We are going to continue to throw the football, that's part of our spread package," Hentges said. "We are confident in Zach's ability to throw it."
Helias scored on Wolken's first drive as a starter. The Helias defense stopped Monroe City on downs as the Crusaders took over at the Panther 39. Five plays later, Wolken connected with Caleb Justice for an 11-yard touchdown and the first of seven extra points by Vito Calvaruso made it 7-0 with 8:21 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers answered with a six-play, 80-yard drive to take the lead. A 52-yard gallop by Keenan Batsell keyed the drive, capped by a 4-yard run by Antwuan Battle. Battle then ran for the 2-point conversion and Monroe City led 8-7.
Helias regained the lead early in the second quarter. A 55-yard run by Alex Clement got the ball to the Panther 15. Brody Mays ran it on the next play and Helias led 14-8.
Monroe City then pieced together a 17-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes that got down to the Helias 20 before the Panthers turned it over on downs with 2:59 remaining before halftime.
But an interception three plays later gave Monroe City the ball back near midfield. The Panthers drove to the Crusader 2 before being stopped on fourth down on what should have been the final play of the half. But the officials ruled Helias was offside on the play, giving Monroe City an untimed down.
Battle took it over from a yard out before a 2-point conversion pass gave Monroe City a 16-14 advantage at intermission.
The Panthers finished with 51 plays on offense in the first half, picking up 255 yards, all on the ground. The Crusaders ran just 14 plays, totaling 127 yards.
"They didn't really stop us in the first half," Hentges said. "We stopped ourselves. We were pretty confident in the second half we could clean a couple of things up and we were going to score."
There were a couple of minor adjustments made on the Helias defensive side during halftime. But giving up a touchdown and the lead on a play the Crusaders didn't believe the Panthers should have been allowed to run provided its own spark.
"I think we were ticked off because it was a great goal line stand, and then they get an extra down that we didn't think they should have gotten," Hentges said. "The kids were really self-motivated."
Helias got the ball to start the third quarter and went 61 yards in seven plays to take the lead for good. The touchdown came on an 8-yard run by Clement and it was 21-16.
The Crusaders forced a three-and-out on the Panthers' first offensive series of the half. The ensuing punt went just seven yards and Helias took over at the Monroe City 11. Two plays later, Wolken scored from a yard out and it was 28-16.
Monroe City picked up a first down on its next series before punting as Helias took over at its own 46. Two plays later, Wolken and Justice connected for a 46-yard catch and run that made it 35-16.
After another Panther punt, Helias started at the Monroe City 45. Seven plays later, Brody Mays scored on a 1-yard run and Helias led 42-16 with :13.2 remaining in the third quarter.
Monroe City scored on the ensuing drive, going 68 yards on nine plays. Batsell got the touchdown on a 2-yard run, then added the 2-point conversion to make it 42-24.
The Crusaders got the final score of the game on the next drive as Clement sprinted 53 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.
Clement, in his first game back after a shoulder injury suffered against Cardinal Ritter, finished with 133 yards on 10 carries.
"That last run was great, he did a great job getting to the end zone," Hentges said. "With Alex and Brody both back, we've got a good running game."
Batsell was the workhorse for the Panthers. After running 41 times for 276 yards against the Crusaders last year at the Crusader Athletic Complex, the senior had 44 carries for 231 yards Friday night.
"I think the most carries I ever had in high school was 34 up at Kirksville and I was cramping all the way home," Hentges, an All-American running back in the early 1980s at Helias, said.
Monroe City (5-2) finished with 409 yards on 81 plays. The Panthers ran the ball 73 times for 388 yards (5.3 avg.). Helias was a little more balanced, running for 189 and throwing for 172 for 361 yards on 37 plays.
"We had some short fields, so we didn't rack up the big numbers," Hentges said. "But it's the numbers on the scoreboard that really matter."
Helias (6-1, No. 7 in Class 4) will have a week to prepare with Wolken as the starter before hosting the Rock Bridge Bruins (3-4) next Friday night.
"Everyone needs to pull a little harder on the rope, give us a little more effort," Hentges said. "Everyone can rally, just not around Zach, but around all of their teammates. The running backs need to run a little harder, the offensive linemen need to block just a little bit longer, everyone has to do their part when you lose a key player like that."
Helias has already been through a similar situation this season with the loss of starting linebacker Garrett Schnieders.
"You lose the quarterback of your defense like we did with Garrett, you have to make adjustments and we've done it on that side of the ball," Hentges said.
Game time is 7 p.m. Friday in Helias' final home game of the regular season.