Once again, the Capital City Cavaliers are set to play the biggest game in program history. The Cavaliers are set to face a rematch against the Helias Crusaders in Capital City’s first district championship game in the four-year history of the program. “We’re trending toward the right direction,” Capital City coach Joe Collier said. “The things that we’re doing in the offseason, in the season, the corrections and tweaks we’re trying to make during games during the season, this is the path we should be on.”
You don’t get style points. The Helias Crusaders did the most important thing this time of the year Friday night: win the game. “Overall, it’s a win, you move the next line in the playoffs,” Helias coach Chris Hentges said after a 38-28 victory against the Washington Blue Jays in the Class 5 District 5 semifinals at Ray Hentges Stadium. “We have to play better next week or we won’t be advancing out of districts, that’s the bottom line.”
The Jefferson City Jays enter tonight’s matchup on a three-game winning streak, but their biggest challenge of the season awaits. The Jays will travel down Stadium Boulevard tonight to take on the Helias Crusaders, looking for their first win in the series in just the fourth game between the two sides despite the long histories of the programs.
The Capital City Cavaliers are looking for a bounce back. The Cavaliers have dropped two consecutive games for the first times since the 2021 season and will look to get back in the win column when they go up Stadium Boulevard once again, this time to play the Helias Crusaders in a CMAC matchup at 7 p.m. today.
There was no doubt, no hesitation. The Helias Crusaders were going for 2. “We knew that’s what we were going to do when we got the ball back at the end,” Helias coach Chris Hentges said Friday night after the Crusaders’ furious second half comeback came up just short in a 30-29 loss to the Cardinal Ritter Lions in a battle of Class 5 state-ranked teams.