Helias works on depth in the trenches; good amount of returning depth at skill positions

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Helias football team graduated quite a bit of depth, nearly 20 seniors, following the 2022-23 school year, but head coach Chris Hentges said his team has plenty of returning depth at skill positions headed into a new season. He said the rebuild will be coming up front.

The Crusaders have one returning starter between the lines coming into the 2023 season. He said he knows just how important of a rebuild the trenches are.

"That's been a point of emphasis for us," he said. "We all know how important that is to success, you know, winning the line of scrimmage. We've got some young kids, really talented kids, that are working really hard, but we just don't have a lot of experience up front."

Watch the full interview with Coach Hentges below.

Hentges and company also graduated standout quarterback Drew Miller, after the 2022 season. However, year-after-year the Crusaders seem to reload at the quarterback position. From Jacob Weaver a few seasons ago, to Miller and now the new head of the offense: Sam Wyrick.

"Sam is a very accomplished baseball player and he's a great athlete. We're going to turn the reins of the offense over to him. We have utmost confidence in him," Hentges said. "A lot of the traits that he has as a great baseball player, I think, will transfer to being a great quarterback for us. He's fast, he's shifty, he's instinctive. He can fit the ball into tight windows."

Hentges said the key to success with reloading at each position through the year has been bringing kids up through the system at a young age. He added they try hard to teach their system all the way down to fifth grade.

As for the upcoming season, the Crusaders will open up the year, once again, hosting Hannibal. That opener is always a tough match up, but as is the team's competition in the CMAC conference.

"Being an independent all those years was really difficult," Hentges said. "We love the challenge of being the small school in the conference."

Helias and Hannibal will kick off the season at 7 p.m. on August 25 at Ray Hentges Stadium in Jefferson City.