ST. LOUIS - The Helias Crusaders put Friday night's game in the past even before they returned to the visiting locker room.
"It's over," Helias coach Chris Hentges said after the Crusaders dropped a 49-3 decision to the De Smet Spartans. "There is no reason to even dwell on this game because the playoffs start next week."
Helias is the No. 2 seed in Class 4 District 5 and will host seventh-seeded Rolla on Friday night. Game time for the Crusaders (8-1) and Bulldogs (4-5) is 7 p.m.
"Looking back at the nine games, I am extremely proud of everything we have accomplished so far," Hentges said. "I don't want the boys to feel that this one game puts a damper on everything we've done.
"They'll be down, I'm sure. But we'll pick them back up and be ready for that district game at home Friday."
The game got off to a good start as the Crusaders recovered an onside kick. But in what turned out to be a theme for the night, it was a three-and-out possession for the offense. That happened five times in seven possessions in the first half, with one of the other two being a kneel down to end the second quarter.
De Smet ended the first quarter with 154 total yards and nine first downs to 16 yards and no first downs for Helias.
"We couldn't move the ball, we couldn't get first downs," Hentges said.
De Smet got on the board on the ensuing possession, the touchdown coming on a 12-yard pass from Michael Wheeler to Jordan Johnson. Luke Bauer booted the first of his seven extra points and it was 7-0.
After a Helias punt, De Smet put together its best drive of the night. Starting at their own 22, the Spartans needed 14 plays to get back in the end zone. The score came on a 14-yard run Darez Snider and it was 14-0 with 1:25 remaining in the first quarter.
De Smet then scored four touchdowns in the second quarter, the first coming on their first play as Taj Butts rumbled 65 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead for the Spartans.
Helias got its first first down of the game on the next drive, which ended with a punt. De Smet needed just three plays to score, which came on a 44-yard pass from AJ Fraser to Ra'Shod Smith-Harvey to make it 28-0.
De Smet's next possession ended with a fumble recovered by Isaac Lopez of Helias. But the Crusaders lost one yard on three plays and Vito Calvaruso's 50-yard field goal attempt was short.
The Spartans then drove 80 yards in six plays. The touchdown came when quarterback AJ Fraser found Jackson out in the flat, who then tossed the ball to Snider, who sprinted down the left sideline for 12 yards on what turned out to be a 24-yard score and a 35-0 lead with a little more than four minutes to go before halftime.
De Smet made it 42-0 with :17 remaining in the first half when Rico Barfield scored on a 4-yard run.
The Spartans ended the first half with 353 total yards - 161 rushing and 192 passing - and 16 first downs. The Crusaders managed 12 yards rushing and 21 yards passing with two first downs.
Helias had problems for much of the night stopping the big and physical running backs of De Smet.
"We were there in a lot of cases," Hentges said. "But it was difficult for us to tackle their size.
"They got a lot of yards after contact, we had guys in the right places but we weren't able to bring their big backs down."
The second half was played with a running clock.
De Smet made it 49-0 early in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard run by Fraser.
Helias got its only score with a little more than two minutes remaining on a 37-yard field goal by Calvaruso.
"Psychologically, that was important to get something on the board," Hentges said.
De Smet finished with 367 yards on 39 carries.
"They were running simple zone plays and getting big chunks of yards because they were dominating at the line of scrimmage," Hentges said.
The Spartans (9-0) did not complete a pass in the second half and totaled 559 yards of offense and 20 first downs.
"You have to call it what it was, we got outclassed by better athletes tonight," Hentges said. "It's the No. 1 team in Class 6 with loads of Division I talent.
"I think a lot of the teams they've played this season feel the way we do, we just got smothered."
Helias finished with three first downs, running 13 times for 11 yards and completing 8-of-21 passes for 61 yards. The Crusaders had three first downs.
"We couldn't generate anything rushing the ball," Hentges said. "Inside, their defensive tackles are so good, we couldn't establish the line of scrimmage.
"We had a few quick things that were going to be open in the passing game, but they were getting pressure and we didn't have time we thought we'd have. And when we did get to throw it, sometimes we couldn't catch it."
Looking ahead to next Friday, one good thing came out the game.
"We came out healthy, that's a positive," Hentges said.
Camdenton (9-0) is the No. 1 seed in Class 4 District 5. The Lakers blanked the Kickapoo Chiefs 35-0 on Friday night.