It was a lesson learned last Friday night for the Helias Crusaders.
The Crusaders had the Hannibal Pirates right where they wanted them for a little more than three quarters - down on the scoreboard.
"We were in control, we were doing good things," Helias coach Tim Rulo said. "We started so strong. I think we had them on the ropes.
"We just weren't able to finish."
After a break due to weather, the Pirates dominated the last eight-plus minutes and finished off the Crusaders in a 41-28 decision.
The lesson? Helias still needs to learn how to finish off games, starting with Saturday afternoon's game at Southeast in Kansas City.
"That's our job as coaches," Rulo said. "The ability to finish, it's a great skill for football and for life and we weren't able to do it. We need to work on ways to do that because this won't be the only close game we will have this season."
It was a big night last Friday - the first game at Helias' new facility, lots of pre-game ceremonies, facing their big rival in Hannibal. The Crusaders didn't have much left in the tank when the game resumed after the lightning break.
"Talking to the guys after the game, through the weekend, they said they were emotionally spent," Rulo said. "We tried to get them motivated, get ready to play again, but it just didn't happen.
"You could tell by their faces things were different. We need to figure out what happened and how to fix it."
Helias doesn't want that to be a problem Saturday against Southeast.
"We really want to get off to a good start and take care of things early," Rulo said.
Southeast also comes into the game 0-1. After trailing 26-6 at the half last Saturday against Van Horn, the Knights pulled to within six before before giving up 23 unanswered points to fall 49-20.
One problem for Southeast was injuries as the Knights lost three quarterbacks in the second half.
Southeast had two quarterbacks - DeQuanta Tenner (117 yards) and Darrell Stafford (128 yards) - eclipse the century mark in passing yardage last Saturday. Their top target was wide receiver Doedy Deh-Patterson, who caught nine balls for 180 yards and three touchdowns.
"It's an athletic team," Rulo said. "They look like a team that can put up a lot of points, they want to get the ball to their athletes."
Helias jumped out to a 42-0 lead at halftime on its way to a 56-6 win against Southeast last year at Adkins Stadium. Rulo isn't expecting such an easy time of it Saturday.
"They're improving, you can tell just by watching the film from their game last week," he said. "They look more fundamentally sound all over the field."
Not that he wouldn't take it if it happened.
"We really want to get off to a good start and take care of things early," Rulo said.
Getting a big early lead would help the Crusaders build some depth by getting additional players some varsity experience
"We have to get the next guy ready, to give our starters a breather sometimes, especially the guys playing both offense and defense," Rulo said. "And that can take a game or two, a JV game or two, to get their feet under them. But the quicker we can get that process going, the better team we will be."
Rulo believes the Crusaders improved as a team last week.
"We keep taking steps, there are a lot of good takeaway points from the game," he said. "Unfortunately, none of them will take away the bad taste of losing.
"We need to get that taste out of our mouth. They know that's not what Helias football is all about. They want to do better."
Game time is 4 p.m. Saturday.
III
The field for Saturday's game is adjacent to the high school. "It looks like a really nice facility," Rulo said. Helias came out of the Hannibal game injury-free. This is the second in a two-year series between Helias and Southeast. With the Crusaders entering the Archdiocesan Athlete Association (AAA) next season, the series will not be renewed. Southeast, a Class 2 school in football, is a member of the Interscholastic League. Helias is home next Friday against Althoff (Ill.).
Related podcast:
Helias Crusaders Football Podcast [KC Southeast preview, Aug. 25, 2017]