MHS football: Owls welcome No. 2 Helias for Homecoming

The Owls hope last week's career-best performance by junior John Lozano (5) will keep the Helias defense from focusing on all-state senior Matt Jacobs -- who scorched the Crusaders for 268 yards a year ago. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

This is the time when the hard work, and a difficult pre-conference schedule, needs to pay off for the Marshall football team.

The start of the Class 4, District 8 campaign brings second-ranked Helias to town as a Homecoming guest.

"I think we've faced teams just like Helias, really good teams," remarked Owls head coach Paul Thomas. "It's a new season."

The Crusaders (7-0) are coming back from an appearance in the Show-Me Bowl a year ago, where they lost to perennial power Webb City, 41-34. And they do so with most of their key players from that club.

"This is the team they've been waiting for," Thomas noted. "Last year, it wasn't expected."

The backfield combo of senior Brad Wilson and junior Greg Lorang have combined for 1,131 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns, and both are capable receivers out of the spread formation.

Although senior Chris Distler wasn't the starting quarterback last year, he's proven to be a capable replacement for veteran Jay Shimmens -- with 379 yards and eight TDs on the ground and close to a thousand in the air while completing 69.5 percent of his passes.

"He's a good athlete," Thomas said. "They're a very well-rounded football team."

Despite Matt Jacobs' 268 rushing yards a year ago, Helias laid a 55-18 licking on the Owls, who lost five fumbles and had no pass completions. The Crusaders can apply pressure up front, senior Bryant Schollmeyer claiming five sacks, and have reliable tacklers like senior linebacker Conner White -- with a team-high 89 stops.

"I don't care what you line up in, they're going to play it," Thomas said of Helias' 4-3 defense. "Here they come."

Marshall (2-5) has played effectively at times, even against the best of opponents like Grain Valley and Smith-Cotton, but has been slow to get going -- with only 14 first-quarter points. The Owls have been out-scored 105-48 during the first half.

While capable of rallying, the Owls seem to need a spark on the field in order to play with a high level of emotion. That happened last week at Moberly, but they were already down 21 points at the time and were unable to come back in the muck and mire.

"They need to come out better," Thomas said. "We haven't put four quarters of good football together and we need to do that at some point."

An addition element of uncertainty is the effect of Homecoming, which can either get a team fired up or shift its focus away from the task at hand. Thomas has attempted to minimize any possible distractions.

"We're just practicing like we normally do, and we've had a good week of practice," he said. "The rest of that stuff is for everybody else."

Whether the Owls and their fans will celebrate or mourn afterwards, Thomas believes they're prepared for the challenge.

"They seem focused and ready to go," Thomas declared. "It's up to the kids now."