It wasn't the prettiest of games for the Helias Crusaders.
But they won the battle on the scoreboard as Helias defeated Rolla 34-21 in a Class 4 District 5 first-round game Friday night at Ray Hentges Stadium.
"Winning is tough at this time of the year," Helias coach Chris Hentges said. "Rolla played very hard, we didn't have our best stuff.
"But we got the win and that's the most important thing."
With the win, second-seeded Helias (9-1) advances to host third-seeded Lebanon (8-2) in the district semifinals next Friday night. Game time is 7 p.m.
After a scoreless first quarter, Rolla put together a 12-play, 45-yard drive for a touchdown. The score came on 5-yard run by quarterback Jack Housom and the PAT gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 7:20 to go before halftime.
At that point in the game, Rolla had run 27 offensive plays to just nine for Helias.
"We were struggling to get anything going," Hentges said.
It took less than a minute for the Crusaders to tie the game as Zach Wolken connected with a wide-open Jake Warren for a 67-yard touchdown pass. Vito Calvaruso booted the PAT and it was tied at 7 with 6:26 left in the second quarter.
Thomas Bruemmer of the Crusaders recovered a Bulldog fumble on the ensuing series and Helias took over at its own 44. The Crusaders drove inside the Bulldog 10 before Calavaruso came on to kick a 27-yard field goal to give Helias a 10-7 lead.
Griffin Buschjost of Helias intercepted a Rolla pass on the next play from scrimmage and returned it 34 yards to the Crusasder 13. Three plays later, Brody Mays scored on a 6-yard run and Calvaruso's kick increased Helias' advantage to 17-7.
A sack by Dylan Kopp keyed a three-and-out for Rolla on its next series and Helias took over at its own 29 after a Rolla punt with a little more than a minute left before halftime.
That was more than enough time for the Crusaders. After a pass interference penalty, Wolken connected with Dylan Weaver for a 41-yard completion to move Helias inside the Rolla 20.
Three plays later, Damon Johanns caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Wolken and Calvaruso's kick made it 24-7 in favor of Helias at the break.
"We made enough plays in the second quarter to make up for that slow start," Hentges said.
The Crusaders got the ball first in the third quarter and made the most of it.
Helias went 67 yards in 10 plays, the final 30 coming on a touchdown pass from Wolken to Buschjost a little more than three minutes into the third quarter. Calvaruso's kick gave Helias a 31-7 lead.
Rolla cut Helias lead to 31-14 on the final play of the third quarter on an 8-yard run by Dawit Pritchett.
The Bulldogs got to within 10 at 31-21 four minutes into the fourth quarter when Housom connected with Elijah Cunningham for an 82-yard touchdown.
After an interception by Jake Warren, Helias got the final score of the game with :13.9 remaining when Calvaruso kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it 34-21.
It was Calvaruso's 11th field goal of the season, eclipsing the school-record of 10 set by Anthony Woodruff in 2010.
Rolla finished with 330 yards of offense, 199 through the air on 5-of-12 passing.
Mays led Helias' rushing attack with 77 yards on 10 carries. The Crusaders finished with 143 yards rushing on 31 carries.
Wolken was 12-of-26 passing for 220 yards.
Rolla, the No. 7 seed in the district, ends its season at 4-7.
Top-seeded Camdenton will host fourth-seeded Washington in the other district semifinal next Friday. Camdenton defeated Pacific 51-27 in its opener Friday, while Washington got past Marshfield 20-14.