Helias wants to rebound with good effort against Kirksville

Nathan Bax of Helias fends off a tackle attempt by a Father Tolton player during a game last month at Adkins Stadium.
Nathan Bax of Helias fends off a tackle attempt by a Father Tolton player during a game last month at Adkins Stadium.

There's no reason to look back, what's done is done.

The Helias Crusaders are fully focused on Saturday night's Homecoming game against the Kirksville Tigers at Adkins Stadium.

"This is not a bad team coming here Saturday night," Helias coach Tim Rulo said. "They are hungry, you can see that when you watch them play.

"We need to be ready to go against them."

The Crusaders and Tigers will both bring 3-4 records into the 7 p.m. contest.

Helias is coming off a disappointing 46-33 loss last Friday at Rock Bridge. The Crusaders fumbled nine times against the Bruins, losing five.

"That never happened before, I've never seen it that bad, that was unreal," Rulo said. "But we're putting it behind us. You cannot focus on it too much, you can't let it get in your minds.

"We have all the potential in the world and we've shown glimpses of that. Now we just need to do that the whole game."

Rulo said the Crusaders did a lot of things right last Friday.

 

"We reached a ton of our goals for that game," Rulo said. "But two things happened. One, we did not contain the big play. Two, we did not hold onto the ball.

"It doesn't matter how well you play, if you don't do those things, you're going to have a tough time winning a football game. If you have too many breakdowns, you are not going to be successful."

Kirksville snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 13-7 overtime win at Moberly in Week 3.

The Tigers are 3-2 in North Central Missouri Conference action this year. Kirksville's two NCMC losses are 49-21 at Hannibal (the game was tied at 7) and last week's 25-6 decision at Mexico.

Kirksville is led by first-year coach Conrad Schottel. Schottel played at Kearney when it defeated Helias 27-15 for the Class 4 state championship in 2009.

"He's a young coach trying to build things up and do things right," Rulo said. "He knows about successful programs. I have no doubt he will continue to have things going in the right direction."

Kirksville operates out of a flexbone offense, something similar to what Helias uses.

"They do a lot out of it, they've opened it up a little bit," Rulo said.

The Tigers are averaging just under 20 points per contest.

"They're moving the ball, but they're struggling to score," Rulo said.

The Crusaders have seen multiple defensive formations from the Tigers in the first seven games.

"A lot of times it's a four-man front, but their linebackers can line up anywhere," Rulo said. "We're going to need to count guys, see where they're lining up and be ready to block that scheme."

With two games left in the regular season, Helias is sitting in third in the Class 4 District 7 standings. The Crusaders would like to move up a spot to have the opportunity to host another playoff game later this month.

"We always want more home games, so we need to win," Rulo said. "It comes down to us taking care of business."

Kirksville is currently fifth in the same district, so the Crusaders and Tigers could play a second time down the road.

"You might see them again so you want to make a statement," Rulo said.

Rulo stresses there is still a lot for the Crusaders to play for this season.

"We just have to stay the course," he said. "If you truly love the team and are excited about being a Crusader, support us and get excited and cheer us on for a win."

Helias Catholic hosts Kirksville, 7 p.m. Saturday.

Updates on Twitter: @tjrackers

Preview podcast: Helias Crusaders Football Podcast [Kirksville preview, Oct. 8, 2016]