The Helias Crusaders want to come up big in an odd week. And if they can, it will start a winning streak.
Just as in 2016, the start of the 2017 campaign has been a bit of a roller coaster for the Crusaders. A loss, followed by a win, followed by a loss, followed by a win.
Helias looks to break that trend tonight in Week 5 when the Crusaders (2-2) travel to Columbia to take on the Battle Spartans (2-2).
"You have goals, one is always making a deep run in the postseason and everything we do is geared toward that," Helias coach Tim Rulo said. "But it would be nice to maybe build off what we have improved on in the first four weeks and get a second straight win."
It won't be easy. While the Spartans have lost two straight games for the first time since dropping their final two in the 2015 regular season, the losses have come on the road to Class 6 No. 10 Rock Bridge (by a score of 9-0) and Class 5 No. 1 Vianney (52-32).
"This is new territory for them and I'm sure that emotion will play into this game," Rulo said. "I'm sure they are going to have a lot of energy being back at home and we have got to be ready for that."
Battle, ranked No. 6 in Class 5 this week, likes to run the football out of the spread on offense."They always have a stable of backs, even if they run the spread, they will run the ball," Rulo said. "It's a run-first offense."
The stable will be one short this week after losing Nate Ferguson to a broken collarbone in the loss to Vianney. Ferguson had rushed for 243 yards and five touchdowns this season.
Darren Jordan, a sophomore, figures to be the featured back against Helias. Jordan has run for 316 yards (7.7 avg.) and four touchdowns, including 13 carries for 89 yards and a score against Vianney.
Also figuring to see the ball in the run game tonight for the Spartans are Payton Roberts and Tre Morris.
Battle quarterback Jarren Lewis has thrown for more than 600 yards and nine touchdowns in four games.
"He is very talented, we have to make sure we contain him in the pocket and make him make throws he doesn't want to make or make them before he wants to make them," Rulo said.
"Battle has a great group of athletes. For us, it's a matter of knowing what they're going to try to do and be prepared for it."
The Helias defense was prepared last week for what Hickman was going to throw at them. The Crusaders set a school record with six interceptions in the game, returning three for touchdowns in a 49-7 victory at Ray Hentges Stadium.
"It was an outstanding effort for our defense," Rulo said. "I feel like our defense is getting better, they played a full four quarters and they put together a complete package. They did a great job of keeping Hickman in check, even when they tried to do a few different things with their formations."
It was the style of defense Rulo wants to see from his team.
"I love to see guys getting hungry, being physical, getting after it," he said. "There's nothing better to see than everybody rallying toward the ball. Some of those interceptions came on tipped balls, which means our guys had their hands up and nobody gave up on the play.
"You are going to need to do that against a team like Battle. We want to make sure they earn everything they get, we don't want to make it easy on them."
The Helias offense got into the act in the second half against Hickman, scoring three touchdowns of its own.
"They weren't really on the field that much in the first half," Rulo said. "In the third and fourth quarters, we ran exactly what we wanted to run and got out of those plays what we were looking to get out of them."
In the past two seasons, Battle has used a 4-4 base defense against the Helias flex-bone.
"We take pride in the fact we do something different and do it very well," Rulo said. "It can be tough for a team to prepare for what we can do in just a week."
The Spartans have a quick defense, Rulo said, especially in the second four.
"Their linebackers have great noses for the football," he said. "They are so quick and they can make plays all over the field.
"We have to make sure to block at the linebacker level."
Morris, a senior who was an all-state selection last year, is Battle's top tackler from his linebacker spot with 32 solo stops. Another linebacker, Jake Hedrick, has 18 solo tackles to go along with 2.5 sacks.
With its run-first offense, Helias looks to sustain drives to slow Battle into playing at the Crusaders' pace.
"We want to chew up clock, control the tempo," Rulo said.
Rulo likes what he's seen from his team through four weeks.
"From Week 1 to now, our defense and our offense have improved and that's what I want to continue to see," he said. "I see the identity of what I want a football team to look like.
"I think we are very close to being a very good football team."
Game time is 7 p.m.
III
Battle has lost back-to-back games for just the third time in the five years of the program. The 2015 losses were to Jefferson City and Hannibal. The other time it happened was 2013 when Battle ended its season with losses to Jackson and Troy. Battle leads the series with Helias 2-1. The Crusaders won the first meeting 29-14 before falling 28-27 in 2016 and 64-29 last season at Adkins Stadium. This is the second of four straight games against Columbia schools for the Crusaders. Helias will play its first ever game at Father Tolton next Friday before hosting Rock Bridge for Homecoming on Saturday, Sept. 30. That is Helias' final home game of the regular season. Helias is plus-10 in turnover margin through four games. With the construction of the track around the football field at Hentges Stadium, the football Crusaders are practicing on the adjacent soccer field until the work is concluded.
Related media:
Helias Crusaders Football Podcast [Battle preview, Sept. 15, 2017]