It all comes down to tonight

The age-old axiom of defense winning championships will be put to the test Friday night at Porter Stadium.
In what is easily the biggest game either team has played thus far, the Hannibal Pirates will welcome the Helias Crusaders to town for the Class 4 District 8 championship game. With both the Pirates and the Crusaders entering the game 2-0 in District action after dispatching Marshall and Kirksville, the winner of the game will claim the District title and earn the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and earn the privilege to host a playoff game.
“This game is no different than the other nine weeks,” St Clair said. “Yeah, we’re playing a good team, but so are they.”
The Crusaders enter the game sporting an undefeated 9-0 record. The Pirates have one blemish in the loss column, but have won its last seven contests. Last season, facing similar circumstances, the two squads squared off in Jefferson City. Helias came out on top in that contest 38-20, winning the District en route to a State runner-up finish.
“We went down there last year and got beat by a good football team,” St Clair said. “They outplayed us. But we’re a good football team – we’re a lot better than we were a year ago.”
Both teams enter tonight’s game as almost identical clubs. Each team can score points, and has done so with regularity this year. Helias has scored 383 points this year, or 42.5 per game, while Hannibal’s offense has put up 319 points, or 35.4 points per game.
Helias, like most teams the Pirates have featured this season, does most of its work on the ground. Running back Brad Wilson has done the most damage for Crusaders. Wilson has toted the ball 96 times for 1,039 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Helias isn’t one-dimensional. Quarterback Cody Distler has throw for 1,160 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year. Still despite the Crusaders’ ability to throw the ball, St Clair said he would much rather have Helias pass than run.
“We prefer that they go in and throw the ball,” St Clair said. “I think every game, you go in and hope you shut down the run. Forcing the pass makes it a lot easier to play pass defense.”
The Helias defense has given up 79 points on the year but will have work to do against the Pirates. Led by quarterback Charlie Fohey, who has taken the reins as the No. 1 man under center, the offense is scoring early, often and fast. Since taking over full-time as the No. 1 starter, Fohey has played well for Hannibal. Of course, it helps having Mark Nemes, Lenny Clark, Mat Sims and the rest of the weapons the red and black deploy on a regular basis.
“Our offense has points up on the board all year long,” St Clair said.
Defensively, the Pirates have been lights-out. Six times this year, the red and black have shut out the opposing teams, including the last five weeks. With its 28-0 shutout of Marshall last Friday, the Pirates stingy streak of posting zeroes now stands at 22 quarters and 267 minutes and one second. For the season, Hannibal has given up just 69 points. Last week against Kirksville, Helias scored 64.
“I don’t care how many points they put up on someone else or what they’ve done, our defense has six shutouts … we don’t know how we’ll match up with them until we see them, but we’re pretty confident that our defense is good,” St Clair said. “We look forward to the matchup. I don’t think there is anybody in the state that we don’t think we match up against.”
The Pirates will have a home-field advantage for the game this year, something that could make a difference in the outcome. Kickoff for the game will be at 7 p.m.
“I would think this would be the best show going on,” St Clair said. “You have two ranked teams playing for a District championship. … This is going to be quite a game.”