It’s said that defense wins championships. A bit of well-timed offense certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
The top-seeded Helix Charter Highlanders rallied from a 21-14 halftime deficit on the strength of a second-half defensive shutout and a pair of clutch touchdowns in the final six minutes of last Saturday’s Division I championship game to down the third-seeded Lincoln Hornets, 28-21, in front of a standing room-only crowd of 5,000 fans at Escondido High School.
The Helix Charter Highlanders have earned their second San Diego Section championship in two completed seasons.
The Scotties scored the game-winning touchdown with just 1:13 to play in regulation to highlight the dramatic turnaround victory.
With the win — the third CIF championship for Helix head coach Robbie Owens and the 11th overall for the Scotties in their history — the Highlanders (9-3) qualified for this Friday’s Southern California regional Division 2-AA playoff game against Division III San Diego Section champion Mater Dei Catholic.
The second-seeded Crusaders (11-0) defeated the fourth-seeded Ramona Bulldogs, 37-10, using much the same game plan.
The Helix-Mater Dei Catholic matchup will be a first this year and certainly a first in the regional state playoffs.
The Scotties enter Friday’s game at Mater Dei Catholic High School riding the crest of a six-game winning streak. The Crusaders remain the section’s lone undefeated team.
Kick-off is 7:30 p.m.
Owens believes his team’s tough early season schedule has set the team up for postseason success.
“We played Servite, which was ranked second in the nation, we played Mission Viejo (ranked eighth in the state) and we played Cathedral Catholic (San Diego Section Open Division champions),” Owens said. “We’ve definitely been through a challenging schedule throughout the season that has made us the team we are today.”
The Highlanders have appeared in seven consecutive section championship games, winning four. Helix has appeared in 23 CIF finals overall; the CIF finals appearance was the fifth for Owens personally.
History has a way of repeating itself.
“The offense showed up when we needed it to,” Owens said. “We played well in all three phases. We knew the defense had to make a stop. Then we got the turnovers. I’m really proud of our defense.”
The first half was about Lincoln, the Highlanders and the officials.
Some controversial calls helped extend Lincoln’s final scoring drive in the half to enable the Hornets (8-4) to take a touchdown lead.
Lincoln nursed its one touchdown lead until the fourth quarter.
The Hornets took a 6-0 lead on a 14-yard touchdown run by junior Roderick Robinson with 6:44 left in the first quarter. The Highlanders blocked the extra-point attempt.
The Helix defense stamped its name on the game when senior James Johnson Jr. intercepted a pass and returned the ball to the Lincoln 14-yard line.
Senior Christian Washington scored the first of his four touchdowns in the game on a three-yard run to cap the series. With senior Noah Horvath’s successful extra-point conversion, Helix took a 7-6 lead.
That would be the Highlander’s only lead until the waning seconds of the game.
Lincoln missed a 30-yard field goal attempt with 1:15 remaining in the first quarter and the Scotties blocked a 49-yard attempt (with a return for an apparent touchdown by junior Ezriel “Puka” Noa nullified by a penalty) midway through the second quarter.
The Hornets eventually took a 14-7 lead with 5:40 to play in the first half as senior quarterback Jalen Daniels hit Oregon-bound senior Jalil Tucker on a 43-yard touchdown bomb. Robinson ran in the two-point conversion to tack on eight points on the scoreboard.
Washington scored his second touchdown of the game on a six-yard run with 2:42 to play in the half as the teams traded touchdowns.
The score stood 14-14 before Lincoln senior Jahill Florence made a 20-yard touchdown catch with 10 seconds to play. The Hornets’ scoring drive was aided by a 15-yard penalty when it appeared the Helix defense had stopped the Lincoln field march.
The Hornets would not enter the end zone again for the remainder of the contest.
The Highlanders turned the game around in their favor in the latter stages of the final quarter.
Moments after Helix had missed a 26-yard field goal attempt, junior Adren Parker returned a punt 39 yards to the Lincoln 16-yard line. The Scotties stayed with their money man as Washington carried the ball six times, eventually punching in the pigskin from a yard out with 6:03 to play. Horvath’s PAT tied the game 21-all.
A fumble recovery by Helix sophomore Kairo Kahananui at the 27-yard line set up Washington’s one-yard sweep to the right in the dying seconds for the game-winner.
An interception by Noa on fourth-and-five with 20 seconds to play sealed the Hornets’ fate.
Noa continued a family tradition at Helix. Older brothers Ezekiel and Elelyon have gone on to play at Boise State and Utah State, respectively.
“It feels great to help my team win CIF,” the younger Noa said. I’m thrilled to keep the family tradition going.”
Washington dominated the Helix offense with 45 carries for 181 yards. He enters Friday’s regional playoff game with more than 2,000 rushing yards and 31 total touchdowns to his credit this season.
“Our goal was just getting that last touchdown and being physical when they weren’t,” said Washington, who has scored 10 touchdowns in three playoff games this season. “We wanted to really dominate. It was a do-or-die situation we were in.”
Owens said a key to the victory was learning how to stop Robinson (23 carries, 153 yards) on the ground. His team continued to grow even during the game.
“We play a lot of young guys,” Owens said. “We matured over the season. We’ve gotten better and better. In a CIF championship game, you’ve got to play your best football to win.
“We’re a second-half team. We made some adjustments at halftime. You always want to put your kids in the best situation to succeed. I’m so proud of the whole coaching staff.”
“I’m so happy we got it done,” said Helix senior receiver Xavier Van, who caught three touchdown passes in the team’s 28-17 come-from-behind semifinal win over visiting El Camino. “We’re a second-half team. We executed. We’re excited. I’m proud.”
