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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 2020 edition of the Helias Crusaders had a championship-quality defense. There’s a Class 4 state title banner hanging in Rackers Fieldhouse to prove it. The 2023 edition of the Crusaders did them one better. Actually, seven better. The Helias defense posted its second shutout of the season Friday night as the Crusaders wrapped up an undefeated Central Missouri Activities Conference campaign with a 63-0 victory against the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Tigers.

The Helias Cruasders have a list of goals to achieve each season. With last week’s 24-6 win against Jefferson City to claim its fourth consecutive city championship, Helias can mark off the first one. But there’s still more on that list.

In the arts, a confluence of tough economic and cultural forces are at work, with the collective impact hitting arts groups where it hurts: the budget

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.