Tim Rulo, who directed the South Callaway Bulldogs football team to a Class 2 runner-up finish a little more than three months ago, was named the new head coach at Helias in a surprise announcement Monday.
Helias held a press conference late Monday afternoon to introduce Rulo. He replaces Phil Pitts, who resigned in January to take a position as a defensive analyst on head coach Gary Pinkel's staff at the University of Missouri.
Rulo engineered the most successful period in the South Callaway program's 18-year history, compiling a remarkable 66-19 record in his seven seasons with the Bulldogs. South Callaway made five appearances in the state playoffs under Rulo, won three district titles and were district runners-up four times.
The Bulldogs also captured three conference championships with Rulo, two in the now-disbanded Mid-Missouri Conference (2010, 2011), and the other coming in the Eastern Missouri Conference last season as a new member. The apex of Rulo's tenure at South Callaway came in 2014 when the Bulldogs finished with a 14-1 record and played for a state championship for the first time, ultimately bowing to Lamar 30-15 in the Class 2 title game.
Rulo will inherit a Class 4 Helias program that was 40-15 overall in four seasons under Pitts. The Crusaders finished second in Class 4 in both the 2012 and 2013 seasons, and also collected four district titles during that time.