The Hickman Kewpies are No. 7 in the latest Class 4 power rankings by the Missouri High School Soccer Coaches Association.
The numbers may have them underrated.
The Kewpies scored four goals in the first 21 minutes Wednesday night in a 6-0 victory against the Helias Crusaders at the Crusader Athletic Complex.
"They are pretty good, in my opinion they are as good as any team we've played this year," Helias coach Jay Hebenheimer said. "Their attack is high-pressure, they are go-go-go.
"And they're doing it while still being very organized, their touch is very good."
The Kewpies took advantage of a flaw in the Crusader playing style to get out to the big early lead.
"We let them turn on us and when you let players turn on you, it makes the game very difficult," Hebenheimer said. "We just want to defend, not tackle, and when you try to tackle players of that level, they are going to beat you and put the ball in.
"Their goals were all tap-ins, basically."
Leif Kammer got the Kewpies on the board a little more than nine minutes into the contest when he took a pass in front of the Crusader net and back-heeled a shot into the goal.
The Kewpies scored on each of their first four shots on goal.
"They are faster than our back line and we went in heavy and when you have those two things, the game can get away from you," Hebenheimer said.
Hickman took that 4-0 lead into halftime.
"The boys didn't get down, the attitude stayed good," Hebenheimer said.
The Kewpies made it 5-0 about 12 minutes into the second half, then got their final goal with 10 minutes remaining.
"We knew this was going to be a tough one, we did what we could," Hebenheimer said.
With the win, Hickman (15-2-1, 5-0) cliniched the CMAC championship.
It may not be the last meeting of the season between the Crusaders and the Kewpies. They are both in the Class 4 District 6 Tournament which will begin in a couple of weeks at Rock Bridge.
"I would imagine there's a chance we will see them again in districts," Hebenheimer said.
Helias (5-13, 2-4) is back in action today at home against Fatima. The JV game will start at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity contest around 6:45 p.m.
"We just need to play games and that's the next one," Hebenheimer said. "We just need to try to get better."
In Wednesday's JV game, Hickman blanked Helias 7-0.