It’s a tough offense to slow down, much less stop.
The Helias Crusaders know they will have their hands full when they face Capital City and the option attack of the Cavaliers in Central Missouri Activities Conference action tonight at Adkins Stadium.
“That’s the key matchup, our ability on defense to stop their run,” Helias coach Chris Hentges said.
“We’ve got to make sure we are assignment sound, that’s the key to stopping option football. We’ve repped that all week, but it can be different live.”
The Cavaliers (4-1 overall, 3-1 CMAC) have run for nearly 1,700 yards (6.6 avg.) this season after shifting from the spread offense to the option game.
Hurley Jacobs (6-foot-2, 230 pounds, sr.) leads the Cavaliers with 113 carries for 827 yards and eight touchdowns. Jaylan Thomas (5-9, 170, fr.) is next with 652 yards and five scores on 78 carries.
“The hard downhill runner and the speed,” Hentges said. “They’ve got both.”
Hayden Carroll (6-6, 185 sr.) has run for 154 yards on 41 carries at the quarterback spot.
“They’ve got linemen who are firing off the ball, they’ve got running backs who are running hard and a quarterback that reads it well,” Hentges said. “They are a very dangerous offensive team.”
Carroll has thrown it just 17 times this season, but is averaging more than 25 yards per completion.
“He’s a very capable passer, you can’t ignore that part of their offense,” Hentges said.
Helias (3-2, 2-1) has seen similar offenses in the past.
“We’ve had enough experience against Webb City in the past, we know all option teams are hard to stop,” Hentges said. “We’ve been working hard with our four-front defense this week, making sure we are assignment strong in trying to slow down their offense.”
It’s a matter of everybody on the defense doing their part.
“You have to take on the block, defeat the block and tackle somebody,” Hentges said. “You can’t draw up a defense to stop everything, you have to win against blocks and be assignment strong.”
Hentges said it’s been a good week of practice for the Crusaders.
“Very energetic all week long, the boys really responded to what we asked them to do,” he said.
There was a notion the Crusaders might have a series of non-hitting practices during the week due to a series of injuries. But the Crusaders did some hitting Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Facing an offense like we will be facing (tonight), you have to be physical,” Hentges said. “You need to get your hands to the target, you have to tackle, you have do those things.
“We tapered it a little bit, but we did hit some of the time. We’re happy with what we were able to get accomplished.”
The Helias offense averaged more than 43 points per game through the first three weeks of the season. But the Crusaders have managed just a total of 34 points in the last two weeks.
That offense will be taking on a 3-4 front from the Cavaliers, who are allowing 22.8 points per game
“It’s a good defensive scheme that can really clog up the middle,” Hentges said. “It’s hard to run the ball up the middle, but we’re going to have to be able to do some of that.”
Helias will be without two starters on offense tonight.
Korbin Fisher, Helias’ leading rusher with 523 yards (4.9 avg.) and five touchdowns, will be out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.
“That’s a big loss for our offense, but we’ve got several talented guys ready to go,” Hentges said. “We’re a running back by committee and they’ll all play as hard as they possibly can.”
Trevor Kolb, the starting right tackle, is also out with an injury.
“We’re going to give some of our younger guys a shot up front,” Hentges said.
Game time is 7 p.m.
Notes: Helias has won the two previous meetings against Capital City by scores of 51-6 and 31-0. … Alex Cook will move to right tackle from left guard in the starting lineup tonight. Grant Boessen will also see time at tackle. Aiden Hoeme and Easton Lueckenhoff will share time at left guard. … Brady Rush will get the start at running back for the Crusaders, with Mason French also expected to see action. … Mike Cook is the offensive line coach at Capital City. He previously had coached the offensive line at Helias and Blair Oaks. “He’s a good coach,” Hentges said. “Mike has done a good job with them.” … Helias junior linebacker Logan Montoya finished with 16 tackles last Friday against Rock Bridge. Maddox Fisher, another junior linebacker, had 13 total stops in the game for the Crusaders. ... Montoya leads the Crusaders with 54 total tackles this season, including nine for loss. Helias has won the previous two City Championships by sweeping Capital City and Jefferson City. Capital City can claim the title with a win tonight after defeating Jefferson City last week. … Helias will play Jefferson City next Friday night at Adkins Stadium.