After losing in the second round of the district playoffs the last two years, Warrenton Head Coach Steve McDowell is ready for a change of pace.

“We’re very blessed to be playing in week 11, but our goal is to get over that hump,” McDowell said.

For the second straight year, Helias is standing in Warrenton’s way of reaching the district championship game.

The Crusaders blitzed the Warriors last year, 63-28, ending Warrenton’s season at 6-5.

Twelve months later, Warrenton shattered the 6-5 ceiling and finished with the school’s best regular season record this century.

The Warriors set themselves up with homefield advantage throughout the district tournament, and McDowell is hoping to learn from last year’s playoff loss.

“They run the flexbone, and they torched us last year,” he said. 

“I’ve looked at that film all offseason and some this week, and we’re just going to have to be really disciplined on the defensive side of the ball and do our assignments.”

Warrenton has played — and beaten — one flexbone offense this season, when they beat Troy, 35-28, Aug. 25.

The Crusaders average 275 rushing yards per game, and are led by juniors Blake Veltrop (No. 30) and Daniel Rhea (No. 10).

The running back duo has combined for 1,429 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns this season.

“They’re going to put together some drives, but we have to take away some of the big plays,” McDowell said. “If we can keep them away from the big hitters as much as possible, we’ll be OK.”

Warrenton will look for senior quarterback Brenden Smith to continue his success on the ground.

Smith tallied 261 rushing yards in last week’s win over Marshall, and has 1,817 yards and 27 touchdowns on the season.

McDowell hopes to have the services of senior wide receiver Brandon Molinari, who has been injured since Oct. 6

Molinari was expected to go through a series of drills in Thursday’s practice to determine his availability Friday night.

With or without Molinari, the Warriors will continue to rely on underclassmen offensively.

Sophomore running back Dylan Smith has 376 rushing yards this season, while adding 134 receiving yards.

Dylan Smith and sophomore Sam Smith combined to catch four of Warrenton’s eight passes against Marshall last week.

“Offensively, we have to click,” McDowell said. “We have some young receivers out there, but I told them they’re no longer sophomores.”

The winner of Friday’s game will play No. 2 Moberly or No. 3 Hannibal next Friday at 7 p.m.

“We’ve played in week 11 the last couple of years,” McDowell said, “but our goal is to get into the district championship and give ourselves an opportunity.”