It had been almost 29 minutes since Sam Lopez scored a point, but the Helias sophomore point guard stepped to the free-throw line with :31.8 on the clock, trying to put the Crusaders back in front. The first attempt nervously spun around the rim twice before falling through the net. The second attempt, to give Helias the lead, he swished it.
The Helias Crusaders and first-round wins in the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic have been synonymous with each other. Helias is playing in the Classic for the 25th straight season, and the Crusaders are 18-4 in first-round games when the tournament has been an eight-team format.
The start time for the game was moved up two hours in an attempt to beat the weather. As the Helias Crusaders took knees Friday night to wrap up a 45-14 victory against the Battle Spartans at Ray Hentges Stadium, the rain began to come down for the first time. Timing is everything.
On a night where the Helias honored some of its first teams in football program history, the current Crusaders put on a show. Helias scored seven first-half touchdowns Friday night, then added a last-minute field goal before halftime for good measure, on its way to a 59-13 victory against the Vianney Golden Griffins at Ray Hentges Stadium.
For the third straight season, the Helias Crusaders are the city champions. The Crusaders knocked off Capital City 24-22 a week ago and used a huge first-half performance on Friday to beat the Jefferson City Jays 38-21 in Central Missouri Activities Conference play at Adkins Stadium to claim the city title.