Thursday Night Football as played in the NFL has generally become a dud. Not necessarily so in high school football as played in the San Diego Section.
The Helix Charter High School Highlanders hosted the Granite Hills Eagles in the latest Thursday night edition on Oct. 24. The game was for this year’s Grossmont Hills League championship, or at least a share of it.
The sixth-ranked Eagle prevailed, 35-21, in a game much closer than the final score indicated to essentially wrap up their third consecutive league championship and begin charting a course for the upcoming section playoffs.
The was a lot of drama throughout the game to make it a ratings hit with fans.
The biggest shift in momentum came with 2:11 remaining in the fourth quarter with visiting Granite Hills nursing a 28-21 lead but facing fourth-down and two yards to go just inside its own 35-yard line.
Eagles coach Kellan Cobbs called a timeout. Initially it appeared the punting unit would come onto the field and kick the ball to the Highlanders to give them one last chance to force overtime. Instead, Cobbs sent the offense back onto the field.
It was a gamble, a somewhat high stakes one, in that if the Eagles got those needed two yards that they could likely run out the clock. However, it the Scotties came up with a defensive stop, all the momentum would be on the home side just 30-plus yards from paydirt.
The hand-off went to senior Max Turner, who bulled into the line and then under it as he lowered his body while scrambling along the turf.
The call by the Granite Hills coach paid off: First down.
There was still time left on the clock. The Eagles weren’t done, as it turned out, as with 1:24 remaining in the game, sophomore Anthony Mattar found a hole through the line for a jaw-dropping 65-yard breakaway touchdown that sealed the contest’s outcome.
“Our running backs, all three of them, have been doing a great job and I have a lot of confidence in them,” Cobbs said. “I told our defensive staff that if we didn’t make it that they would have to stop them (Helix), and they said they would. Anything can happen in a high school football game.”
Definitely, the game had its share of moments.
On their first play from scrimmage, Granite Hills sophomore quarterback Zac Benitez shocked everyone in the stadium with a 53-yard pass to junior Tristan Diaz to set up the Eagles’ opening score on a four-yard run by Turner.
The Highlanders matched that on a two-yard touchdown run, then a game-tying PAT by the team’s female place-kicker senior Aubrey Laue.
The Eagles had a chance to advance the lead significantly but a dropped touchdown pass in the end zone and a missed field goal left the Scotties in a deadlock.
“We left some plays on the field in the first half,” Cobbs said.
Granite Hills led 14-7 at halftime on an eight-yard pass reception by Turner from Benitez.
The Eagles came out of the half with another Turner TD, this time on a one-yard run, to up their lead to 21-7 following the extra-point conversion by senior Trent Whillock.
The game was just starting to get interesting, however.
Helix freshman Jeremy Robinson raced nearly the length of the field on the ensuing kickoff to place the ball at the GH 10. But junior Logan Vance made an interception in the endzone to negate the Helix scoring threat.
But the Scotties were soon back knocking on the door when senior Pablo Jackson scored on a one-yard run with 10:46 to play in the fourth quarter. Laue’s extra-point suddenly narrowed the score to 21-14.
The Eagles countered on a one-yard run by sophomore Gage Spalding to bring the score to 28-14 with 6:56 to play.
There was still plenty of time left to maneuver on the field.
Helix made it a one score game, 28-21, with 4:41 remaining as junior Jake Williams hauled in a 43-yard catch-and-run from senior signal-caller Jett Gottlieb.
Granite Hills tallied 541 yards in total offense — 380 rushing yards on 56 carries and 161 passing yards on 15 attempts.
Turner signed off at 200 yards on 30 carries, scoring twice on the ground. He added 11 receiving yards and one score for three total touchdowns in the high impact match-up.
Mattar rushed 10 times for 119 yards while Spalding rushed 14 times for 53 yards, each with one TD to their credit.
Diaz led the Eagles with 67 receiving yards while senior Brenden Lewis had one catch for 31 yards. Senior Lathan Fry had one catch for 16 yards while junior Emilio Vera had one catch for 15 yards.
The Granite Hills defense had a lot to say with three interceptions — one each by seniors Parker Vance and Trevor Smith and junior Logan Vance.”
“We just had to stop the run, especially with Pablo,” Smith said. “We knew if we could do that, we’d had a good chance to win.”
Jackson, a former Eagle before transferring to Helix, was hard to catch with his speed and mobility while taking about half the team’s snaps from the wildcat position.
“Coming into the season, we knew that both us and Helix had lost a lot to graduation and that Mt. Miguel had added some guys,” Cobbs said. “We knew those would be the three teams to beat, and we beat both of them.”
If the playoffs were to start tomorrow, Granite Hills would be the No. 2 seed in Division I while Helix would be the No. 2 seed in Division II. Something exciting could be brewing for both teams in postseason play.
“We’re still hoping to get into the Open Division,” Cobbs said. “That’s always a goal for our team. If we make the Open Division, we’ll do everything we can. Lincoln seems to be head and shoulders above everyone else. But we found a way to beat them last year.
“If we are in the Division I playoffs, we’ll do everything we can to win it.”
At present the Open Division lineup would include No. 1 Lincoln (7-2), No. 2 La Costa Canyon (9-0), No. 3 Cathedral Catholic (7-2) and No. 4 Mission Hills (7-2).
Of note, Granite Hills defeated host Mission Hills, 28-17, to start the season, which could come into play at the seeding meeting.
East County Football Log
GROSSMONT CONFERENCE STANDINGS
GROSSMONT HILLS LEAGUE
League/Overall
Granite Hills 3-0 7-2Mt. Miguel 3-1 7-2Helix 1-2 3-6Grossmont 1-2 4-5Steele Canyon 0-3 4-5
GROSSMONT VALLEY LEAGUE
League/Overall
El Capitan 4-0 6-3Santana 2-2 6-3West Hills 2-2 4-5Valhalla 2-2 4-5Monte Vista 2-2 4-5El Cajon Valley 0-4 0-9
