Chris Hentges wasn't sure Helias could go 9-0 in the regular season.
If for no other reason, he's surprised the Crusaders even played nine games.
"It's nice to be 9-0," Hentges said after Helias wrapped up the regular season Friday night with a 27-18 victory against Cardinal Ritter at Ray Hentges Stadium. "I wasn't sure we were even going to be able to play nine games, that is a blessing in itself. It's special."
It's the ninth undefeated regular season in the history of the Helias football program. The previous one came in 2009 in Chris Hentges' first stint as the head coach of the Crusaders. That team won its first 14 games before falling 27-15 in the Class 4 title game to Kearney.
"It's awesome to finish the regular season 9-0," Helias senior linebacker Isaac Lopez said. "Our morale is pretty high, but we can't stop now. We have to keep going."
That will have to wait a week. Helias is the No. 1 seed in Class 4 District 6 and will receive a first-round bye before hosting either Nevada (6-3) or Harrisonville (6-3) in a district semifinal game Nov. 6.
The Lions had the most individual talent the Crusaders have seen in the regular season. Cardinal Ritter receiver Luther Burden III, an Oklahoma commit, got the Lions on the board on the first drive of the game with a 36-yard touchdown reception from TJ Atkins.
But Helias has seemingly had an answer to opponents' scores all season and had another one Friday night.
"We've shown the ability to do that this season," Hentges said.
The Crusaders needed just three plays to find the end zone, with the score coming on a 54-yard run by Jake Weaver, and Vinnie Calvaruso's PAT made it 7-6 a little more than three minutes into the game.
Helias never trailed after that.
"Our defense got our legs underneath them and played really solid the rest of the night," Hentges said.
Ryan Klahr's 19-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, which featured several broken tackles inside the 5, gave the Crusaders a 14-6 advantage.
On the ensuing kickoff, Burden caught the ball at the 2. Seemingly all 11 Crusaders had at least one hand on him at some point on what turned into a 98-yard return for a touchdown. For the second time in the game, Helias stopped Cardinal Ritter's 2-point conversion run and it was 14-12.
Helias came right back with a touchdown on the next possession. Cole Stumpe caught a 4-yard pass from Weaver and Calvaruso's PAT made it 21-12 with a little more than six minutes to go before halftime.
Late in the second quarter, Burden was tackled for a 1-yard reception and stayed down on the turf with an injury. After a couple of minutes, he seemed unsteady on his feet as he walked to the Cardinal Ritter sideline and did not play the remainder of the game. He finished with four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown in addition to his kickoff return for a score.
Helias received the kickoff to start the third quarter and went 60 yards in six plays. The score came on a 45-yard run by Weaver and Helias led 27-12.
"We knew we were going to have to run Jake," Hentges said. "We couldn't be down one in the run game, if your quarterback is just handing it off, you're down one.
"We did some things to let Jake be who Jake is."
Weaver led Helias with 152 yards on 20 carries Friday night.
Up by 15, it was up to the Helias defense to hold the lead.
"We knew they had some offensive weapons, we just tried to contain them from getting the big plays," Lopez said.
The Lions cut into the Crusaders' lead with a little less than three minutes to go in the third quarter on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Atkins to Amaryrious Edwards. But again, Helias stopped Cardinal Ritter's 2-point run attempt and it was 27-18.
"Our defense played really well," Hentges said.
The Crusaders and Lions, who had beaten Helias the last two years, both had their share of big hits in the game.
"Was it physical? Yes," Hentges said. "Are we a little beat up? Yes. They hit us pretty hard all night.
"But we manned up and showed some guts and got a hard-fought win against a team that dominated us the past two seasons."
Helias ran a season-high 54 times for 344 yards. Alex Clement added 124 yards on 21 carries for the Crusaders.
The Crusaders couldn't get much going in the pass game, completing just five attempts for 26 yards. But those low numbers weren't a surprise to Hentges.
"Not with the wind and the cold and their athletes on the back end," he said. "Let's be real, they locked us down.
"We probably should have tried a little more, we just didn't."
With West Plains losing 42-21 to Bolivar on Friday night, Helias is the lone undefeated team remaining in Class 4. Bolivar (7-2) is the No. 2 seed behind Helias in District 6. If those two were to meet for the district title, that game would be Nov. 13 at Ray Hentges Stadium.