Helias Football: Road to the Dome                                              By Stephen Rehagen   Throughout the season, players and fans for the Helias Crusader football team had one primary goal: to play in the Edward Jones Dome for the state championship.  However, a football team is not just invited to the Dome.  Under Coach Chris Hentges’s supervision, the players began a grueling off-season weight lifting program last December and started practicing twice a day in the heat of August.  Eleven months of preparation had the Crusaders ready to play for the biggest prize in the state. The Crusaders breezed through the regular season with an 8-1 record and easily won their district over traditional rivals Marshall, Kirksville and Hannibal.  Surprisingly, the “Road to the Dome” for Helias never left Adkins Stadium until Thanksgiving.  By a streak of good fortune, all of the Crusaders’ playoff football games were played at home until the state championship.  Led by senior captains Stephen Backes, Brad Lorang, Cody Schueler and Jay Shimmens, the team started playing well at the best possible time and gained momentum going into the playoffs, where they dominated Warrenton High School in the first round, 41-10. The Crusaders next faced old wrestling rivals St. Charles West in the sectional round of the playoffs.  Helias had never lost to St. Charles West in football before this season, and they continued their streak of tion with a 38-14 score.  After the twenty four point victory, the Crusaders faced a sterner foe in MICDS.  Country Day came into the game undefeated, but it quickly became evident they had never played as powerful of a team as Helias, and Helias overcame an unexpected early deficit to win, 30-14.  In the semifinals, Helias faced a Gateway Tech team that had been unstoppable throughout the playoffs, outscoring their opponents 136-0.  Gateway featured great team speed and a tight end, Sheldon Richardson, who is ranked the number one recruit in Missouri.  However, not even Gateway could come close to the Crusaders, who scored the game’s first twenty one points and won easily, 58-19. Finally the Crusaders were one game away from eternal glory, but they knew they were facing their toughest opponent yet in undefeated Webb City, a powerhouse football school from southwest Missouri.  On Saturday, November 29, the two teams met in an epic game at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.  Helias started auspiciously and grabbed an early lead on a touchdown pass from Shimmens to Chris Tannehill.  Unfortunately, Webb City scored the game’s next twenty one points before Clint Distler scored a touchdown just before the half to make the score 21-14 going into halftime. The Crusaders were determined to take back the lead, and did so in a brilliantly played third quarter.  Distler caught another touchdown pass and Shimmens ran for a touchdown.  The defense played well and Helias was twelve minutes away from a championship, clinging to a six-point lead. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, Webb City scored the first two touchdowns of the fourth quarter but was stopped on both PATs, giving the Crusaders new life.  With a Brad Wilson touchdown run with 6:54 remaining, Helias was one point up and a defensive stop away from the state championship.  However, Webb City regained their potent triple option attack and scored to take a seven-point lead and win the state championship, 41-34. Although the football team took second, they were champions in the eyes of their fans and were treated like royalty by the thousands of fans who were firmly behind the Crusaders in their quest for a championship.  The knowledge that Helias was one lucky bounce of a football away from first place especially hurt the players, but they took the heart-breaking loss well.  Helias is coming back next year and wants to make the state championship in the Dome a Helias tradition.