The numbers might have been different, but in the end the result was still the same for the Hannibal Pirates in Monday night’s Class 4 Section game against the Helias Crusaders in Jefferson City.
When the final whistle sounded, calling an end to the Pirates’ 2009 season, the Crusaders came out on top of the Pirates 48-31.
Hannibal head coach Mark St Clair said the loss is one that is likely to stick with his team for quite a while.
“They are going to hurt for a while,” St Clair said. “Everybody feels bad after a loss. But we’ve had a great year.”
Hannibal’s offense struggled early to make a dent in the defense presented by Helias. It took the Pirates four offensive drives and 11:40 before they were able to pick up a first down against the team that beat them 42-17 just 10 days prior for the District Championship.
Part of that difficulty came from an inability to stop Helias’ running game. Just as in the first game between the two teams, the Crusaders’ Brad Wilson remained just out of reach of Pirate tacklers for much of the night. Wilson picked up 201 yards against the Hannibal defense in Monday night’s effort.
But for all of the numbers behind Wilson’s name, he was not the one that hurt the Pirates most in the first half. The Crusaders started their offensive march with a six-play drive that was capped off with a 17-yard touchdown run by Clint Distler.
Another factor that hurt the Pirates was the absence of Mark Nemes. The Pirates’ top rusher for the season suffered a shoulder injury late in the first quarter that sidelined him for the rest of the game.
“You lose a 1,300-and-some-yard rusher and, quite honestly, the guy we’ve built all of our plays around,” St Clair said. “We had several specialty plays that we couldn’t run because he was on the sidelines.”
The Hannibal defense was able to stem the Helias drives for the rest of the first quarter, but a costly fumbled punt by Bryant Ruby gave the Crusaders back the ball at the 2-yard line and set up for another Distler touchdown.
Helias would hang one more touchdown on the Hannibal defense before the Pirates were able to get on the board after Charlie Fohey and Mat Sims, the heroes of the Regional game against Fort Zumwalt East, connected for a 76-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left in the half.
The wind that went in the sails of the Pirates going into half time was quickly diminished, however, when the Pirates gave up an 80-yard touchdown pass to Wilson on the first play of the second half.
The third quarter became even less than favorable for the Pirates when Distler connected with Wilson for the quarterback’s fifth and final touchdown of the night. In total, the Pirates defense allowed Distler to go 12-for-20 for 269 yards in the air.
The Pirates allowed one more touchdown before the Pirates mustered a couple of touchdowns to pull themselves back into the game. The first came when Jordan Strickland picked up a fumble deep in Helias territory, which he ran in from 26-yards out for a touchdown. The other came after a sustained Pirate drive that was capped off by a 2-yard Caleb Bieniek touchdown.
“We had a bunch of kids step up,” St Clair said. “There were times that we had a freshman and sophomore in our backfield running the ball. I was pleased with how our pressure was, especially on the offensive side of the ball.”
But a costly interception thrown by Fohey allowed Helias one final touchdown.
After the game, St Clair said that at some point what his team didn’t do right paled in what the Crusaders did do right.
“You can talk about what we didn’t do, but the big thing is that they did do it,” St Clair said. “You’ve got to give credit, sometimes, where credit is due. You’ve got to give credit to Helias. They beat us twice, both at home and here. I told the kids we’ve been beat by two teams and they are both ranked in the Top 4 in the state. There is nothing to hang their heads about. They should be proud of what they’ve done and I’m proud of them.”
The Pirates finish the season with a record of 9-3 and were undefeated in the North Central Missouri Conference. They also tied a school record for most shutouts in a single season with six.
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The numbers might have been different, but in the end the result was still the same for the Hannibal Pirates in Monday night’s Class 4 Section game against the Helias Crusaders in Jefferson City.
When the final whistle sounded, calling an end to the Pirates’ 2009 season, the Crusaders came out on top of the Pirates 48-31.
Hannibal head coach Mark St Clair said the loss is one that is likely to stick with his team for quite a while.
“They are going to hurt for a while,” St Clair said. “Everybody feels bad after a loss. But we’ve had a great year.”
Hannibal’s offense struggled early to make a dent in the defense presented by Helias. It took the Pirates four offensive drives and 11:40 before they were able to pick up a first down against the team that beat them 42-17 just 10 days prior for the District Championship.
Part of that difficulty came from an inability to stop Helias’ running game. Just as in the first game between the two teams, the Crusaders’ Brad Wilson remained just out of reach of Pirate tacklers for much of the night. Wilson picked up 201 yards against the Hannibal defense in Monday night’s effort.
But for all of the numbers behind Wilson’s name, he was not the one that hurt the Pirates most in the first half. The Crusaders started their offensive march with a six-play drive that was capped off with a 17-yard touchdown run by Clint Distler.
Another factor that hurt the Pirates was the absence of Mark Nemes. The Pirates’ top rusher for the season suffered a shoulder injury late in the first quarter that sidelined him for the rest of the game.
“You lose a 1,300-and-some-yard rusher and, quite honestly, the guy we’ve built all of our plays around,” St Clair said. “We had several specialty plays that we couldn’t run because he was on the sidelines.”
The Hannibal defense was able to stem the Helias drives for the rest of the first quarter, but a costly fumbled punt by Bryant Ruby gave the Crusaders back the ball at the 2-yard line and set up for another Distler touchdown.
Helias would hang one more touchdown on the Hannibal defense before the Pirates were able to get on the board after Charlie Fohey and Mat Sims, the heroes of the Regional game against Fort Zumwalt East, connected for a 76-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left in the half.
The wind that went in the sails of the Pirates going into half time was quickly diminished, however, when the Pirates gave up an 80-yard touchdown pass to Wilson on the first play of the second half.
The third quarter became even less than favorable for the Pirates when Distler connected with Wilson for the quarterback’s fifth and final touchdown of the night. In total, the Pirates defense allowed Distler to go 12-for-20 for 269 yards in the air.
The Pirates allowed one more touchdown before the Pirates mustered a couple of touchdowns to pull themselves back into the game. The first came when Jordan Strickland picked up a fumble deep in Helias territory, which he ran in from 26-yards out for a touchdown. The other came after a sustained Pirate drive that was capped off by a 2-yard Caleb Bieniek touchdown.
“We had a bunch of kids step up,” St Clair said. “There were times that we had a freshman and sophomore in our backfield running the ball. I was pleased with how our pressure was, especially on the offensive side of the ball.”
But a costly interception thrown by Fohey allowed Helias one final touchdown.
After the game, St Clair said that at some point what his team didn’t do right paled in what the Crusaders did do right.
“You can talk about what we didn’t do, but the big thing is that they did do it,” St Clair said. “You’ve got to give credit, sometimes, where credit is due. You’ve got to give credit to Helias. They beat us twice, both at home and here. I told the kids we’ve been beat by two teams and they are both ranked in the Top 4 in the state. There is nothing to hang their heads about. They should be proud of what they’ve done and I’m proud of them.”
The Pirates finish the season with a record of 9-3 and were undefeated in the North Central Missouri Conference. They also tied a school record for most shutouts in a single season with six.
