From The Sideline: Jeff City Helias Standouts vs Rock Bridge

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the games I was at this past weekend was the Jefferson City Helias Crusaders on the road Columbia Rock Bridge. Here is a closer look at some of the Helias standouts I saw from the sidelines. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Helias 2024 RB standout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='392799' first='Mason' last='French']</strong> (5'10" 180) helped carry the Crusaders to victory down the stretch using his legs and showcasing his combination of speed, explosion and strength with his 27 carries or 138 yards and two touchdowns on the night. French is one of the most athletic players in his class with his verified 4.5 forty speed and 38" vertical testing numbers he had in the off season. He was the workhorse on the night that helped close out the game for the win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore QB <strong>Austin Weaver </strong>was called on to be the signal caller when starter Sam Wyrick went down early with an injury. Weaver showed great poise, leadership and management of the offense on the night. It was hard to believe he had not started all season as he led the Crusaders to the first score on a touchdown run he made using some nice athleticism to avoid tacklers to make it into the end zone. Austin deserves a lot of credit for his 5 of 9 passing for 66 yards and a touchdown through the air, while running for another 61 yards and a score. Weaver normally plays wide receiver and safety. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another player who stepped up and made a difference was junior WR <strong>Sam Lopez </strong>(5'10" 160 ) whose catch and run on a swing pass was a huge momentum swing for Helias in the game. Lopez is another good athlete for the Crusaders who seemed to do the little things and played his role on the team to perfection on the night. He brings a lot of energy to the game and showed good hands and speed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was good to see the return to the field of 2025 big-time D1 OL prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='326916' first='Chase' last='Wisecarver'] </strong>(6'5" 280) who had become eligible the previous week verses Cardinal Ritter. Chase didn't miss a beat in his time off and did a great job opening holes for French and Weaver with his run blocks as well as providing protection in pass pro holding down the left tackles spot. Wisecarver has great size, good feet and is athletic. When he is focused and on he is as good as any offensive lineman in the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was also equally impressed with his fellow offensive tackles junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1118517' first='Will' last='Kemna'] </strong>(6'5" 255) on the right side. Kemna showed some nice skills to go along with his athleticism and quick feet on a frame that could easily hold another 40-50 pounds. He has the look of a future college prospect. Will did a very nice job in helping pave the way for the Crusader skill players to make plays on the night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior <strong>Alex Cook</strong> (6'2" 265) OL/DL caught my attention on both sides of the ball with his motor and tenacity on the defensive side, playing strong against the run while getting good push to put pressure along the line. Offensively he was a consistent with his run blocking abilities against a tough Rock Bridge defense who played very physical all night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another top defender in what was a total team effort was senior linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='576084' first='Logan' last='Montoya'] </strong>(5'11" 190) whose leadership and hardnosed play stood out. Montoya is physical and flies to the ball to make plays. He seems to always be around the ball and seems to have a great understanding of how to play defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->