The Helias Crusaders and Capital City Cavaliers both got a little of what they wanted.
Helias played a very good first half Friday night at Adkins Stadium, Capital City liked what it saw in the second half.
"The first half, we played well," Helias coach Chris Hentges said after the Class 4 No. 1 Crusaders defeated the Cavaliers 51-6 in Central Missouri Activities Conference action. "We were able to execute both offensively and defensively. I'm very proud of that."
The Cavaliers can build off a second half in which they outscored the Crusaders 6-3.
"I think the whole second half was important for us mentally," Capital City defensive coordinator Cameron McDaniel said. "We went into halftime saying this was a big half. We could've pouted or came out as hard we could. It was a nice boost that we had a bit of success late."
Helias scored touchdowns on all seven of its first-half possessions.
Returning the opening kickoff to the Cavaliers 33, the Crusaders needed six plays to navigate the 67 yards to the end zone. The score came on a 7-yard run by Alex Clement and Vinnie Calvaruso's extra point made it 7-0.
After a three-and-out by the Cavaliers, Helias took over on the Capital City 40. Three plays later, Clement scored from 6 yards out and it was 14-0 with 6:46 left in the first quarter.
After another Capital City punt, Helias got the ball at its own 49. On first down, Jake Weaver connected with Damon Johanns for a touchdown and Helias led 20-0 after the PAT failed.
Capital City got its first first down of the game on its next series when punter Ian Nelson picked up a bad snap and ran 24 yards on a fourth-and-9 play.
The Crusaders extended their advantage to 27-0 early in the second quarter on a 71-yard screen pass from Weaver to Clement.
That was the first of four second-quarter touchdowns for the Crusaders. Weaver scored on a 23-yard run with 7:08 left before Ryan Klahr took it over from a yard out with 4:16 remaining.
With 1:16 to go before intermission, Helias quarterback Zach Wolken connected with a wide-open Klahr on a wheel route for a 51-yard score to make it 48-0.
Helias finished with 366 total yards - 59 rushing and 307 passing - on 23 plays in the first half. Capital City had 54 yards rushing on 21 attempts while going 0-for-3 through the air.
The Crusaders extended their advantage to 51-0 midway through the third quarter on a 24-yard field goal by Calvaruso.
Capital City got on the board in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers recovered a fumbled punt near midfield, then drove to the Crusader 24. On a fourth-and-12 play, Nelson caught a pass from Hayden Carroll and scored from 24 yards out with 3:39 left in the game. A bad snap on the extra point attempt made the final 51-6.
Helias (6-0 overall, 4-0 CMAC) returns to Adkins Stadium next Friday for the first-ever varsity football meeting against Jefferson City (3-3, 3-1). The Jays extended their winning streak to three games with a 17-14 victory Friday night against Hickman in Columbia.
Capital City (0-6, 0-5) is scheduled to wrap up conference play next Friday at Sedalia Smith-Cotton (0-5, 0-3). The Tigers did not play this week due to COVID-19 concerns.