Chris Leuckel
With Jays in rearview mirror, road
ahead for Crusaders may be
paved with (Blue and) Gold
Oct. 15, 2020
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. --- Last week's game for Helias didn't just have a circle around it on the schedule.
It had a square and a triangle, too. Along with an octagon, pentagon and hexagon, and a few other shapes that don't even have names.
Then, it was surrounded by stars with arrows pointing to it.
It wasn't a big game, it was a huge game 60 years in the making. And how sweet it was for the Crusaders.
Helias 28, Jefferson City 0
"I think there was a lot of pressure, it was unique," Helias coach Chris Hentges said. "Us being the smaller school (Helias is Class 4, Jefferson City Class 5), the old belief is that the larger school has all the pressure to win.
"But I think everyone knew on paper we were the favorites, so I think that added a little more pressure to our side. We were supposed to win."
The emotional-high and fever-pitch surrounding the first-ever meeting seemed to have some effect on the Crusaders, as they committed a season-high five turnovers.
"I think we pressed and tried to make some plays we shouldn't have tried to make," Hentges said. "We should have just lived to play another play, but I'm still proud of the win."
The Jays served as the tasty meat in an interesting football sandwich for undefeated (7-0) and No. 1 Helias. The pieces of bread? Two winless teams.
So you could predict what was coming ... and it came in Tuesday's practice.
"It wasn't a very good practice," Hentges said. "I felt we were a little bit emotionally drained, we were a little flat. But our kids and our staff had invested a lot in that game, so I think it's natural.
"We're trying to keep the focus this week and stay focused for down the road, too."
With the Jays in the rearview mirror, the road ahead may be paved with (Blue and) Gold.
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THERE'S NO SECRET to Helias' success --- they're really good.
And while they're good in all phases of the game, the Crusaders are at their best where it matters most --- the offensive line and the front seven on defense, the line and linebackers.
Trench warfare.
"Our offensive line is a very experienced group," Hentges said, "so we expected them to be good. And defensively, it's the same thing --- we had most of our front seven back.
"It's an old cliche' but it's true, games are won in the trenches. You can have great skill guys but if you don't have the guys up front to get the job done, it's hard to move the football and it's hard to stop people."
These are senior-dominated units, which often means it's young men playing against older boys.
That advantage is significant, especially at those positions.
The defensive line is anchored by 6-1, 240-pound senior tackle Dylan Kopp, who's "flirting with our tackles for loss record," Hentges said. "His ability to slip blocks and penetrate and make big plays, he's done a great job with that."
Kopp is third on the team in tackles (50 total, eight solo), which is unusual for a defensive tackle, and he leads the team with 12 tackles for loss.
The tackle leaders are the dynamic duo of senior linebackers Ethan Holthauser (75, team-high 21 solo) and Isaac Lopez (67, 14).
"They're almost carbon-copies of each other," said Hentges, whose team hosts Sedalia (0-6) at 7 p.m. Friday. "Their reads are so spot-on, they're so disciplined with their eyes.
"They're always in the right spot, filling the holes in the run game and making sure we're gap sound."
The other linebacker is junior Gage Wilde, grandson of Helias legendary coach Mike Jeffries. Rounding out the line are senior tackles Parker Wideman and Will Heckman, and senior ends Jacob Watson and Gage Trachsel.
On the offensive line, it was left guard Trachsel who was mentioned first by Hentges. "He's probably been one of our more consistent performers."
Heckman has made a seamless move to center from guard, Watson and junior Drew Distler work at right guard, and the tackles are Kopp and Wideman.
"It's a lot of the same names, we have two-way guys," Hentges said. "A school our size, we don't have the depth to platoon."
When they're this good, it's hard to sit them.
"There's still room for improvement, we still have little mistakes we need to clean up," Hentges said. "They have to keep going after it each week and prove they're the anchors of our team.
"We really expect those guys to carry us through."
The benefactors of the work up front are the skill players, starting with senior quarterback Jacob Weaver.
A three-year starter, Weaver is potent with both his arm (1,288 yards passing, 16 touchdowns) and legs (590 yards rushing, 11 touchdowns).
"Jacob is a very instinctive player and his dual-threat ability makes us go," Hentges said. "He's really good with the ball in his hands --- you have to account for him in the run game and he's a good deep-ball thrower.
"He knows our offense and understands what we're trying to accomplish out there. He's probably one of the better quarterbacks we've ever had at Helias, when you're talking about the ability to both run and throw."
At running back, the tandem of senior Alex Clement and junior Ryan Klahr is explosive, it really doesn't matter who's on the field in the team's one-back set.
"They're very similar, they both do a lot of the same things," Hentges said. "Alex is probably a little stronger than Ryan, but Ryan is a little quicker. He's very quick.
Clement gets the bulk of the carries and leads the team in rushing (606 yards, 10 touchdowns).
"His strength and his balance make him really tough to bring down," Hentges said. "He's not overly big, but he doesn't go down with the first tackle. He'll twist and cut and get you those extra hard yards."
The leading receivers are junior Cole Stumpe (24 catches 17.1 avg, four touchdowns) and 6-4 senior tight end Damon Johanns (19, 19.7, five), who is a matchup nightmare with his size and speed.
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THIS TEAM, LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD,is still trapped in the terrible 2020 tunnel of Covid. And there's barely a flicker of light at the other end.
But through it all, the Crusaders have persevered and prospered.
"I've very proud of our players, very proud of the coaches," Hentges said. "I think it's a testament to the type of (people) we have in this program that despite all distractions that have swirled around us --- and there have been plenty of distractions --- we've been able to stay focused on our preparation.
"Not knowing what was going to happen, we've really tried to stay positive with the kids and prepared every day like we were preparing for a full season."
It started this summer ... a case of better late than never.
"On the days we needed them to be there," Hentges said, "our summer attendance was 95 percent. We didn't lose a lot of kids to family vacations because people stayed closer to home. And I think after having all spring sitting at home and wondering what was going to happen, the fact we were able to open up camp and our weight room June 1, I think the boys couldn't wait to get here.
"And it wasn't just showing up, they came and they worked hard. Everything we've achieving right now is a product of their hard work. Their goals are big and they want this to be a special season, but we have to stay healthy and keep improving.".
"But it's a possibility,
It certainly is.
After beating the Jays last week, the Crusaders hoisted a trophy awarded to the annual winner of the "new" rivalry.
At the end of the season, they could be hoisting an even bigger and better trophy.
The Helias Crusaders and head coach Chris Hentges celebrate with the new Rivalry Trophy and Mayor Carrie Tergin after beating the Jefferson City Jays in the first-ever meeting between the teams Friday night at Adkins Stadium.
It's time
Wait is over: For first
time Jays, Crusaders
will meet in football
Loeffler's Link
In historic first meeting,
Crusaders use stifling
defense to blank Jays