LA MESALA MESA — Maybe it was the harvest moon shining full and bright on Friday the 13th. Or maybe it was simply a wish come true. Whatever, it was stunning, to say the least.
For his 46th birthday, Helix presented football coach Robbie Owens with a gift he will cherish for the rest of his life.
The Highlanders stunned section No. 1 and seemingly unbeatable Cathedral Catholic, 45-27, at Jim Arnaiz Field.
“It’s my lucky day,” said Owens, shortly after receiving a Gatorade bath. “I told the guys yesterday, that’s all I want for my birthday.”
After a huge win over Corona Centennial last week, Cathedral (3-1) was ranked No. 3 in the state and No. 9 in the country, believed to be regular-season highs for a San Diego team.
“We shocked the world,” Helix quarterback Kamryn Brown said. “That was our motto for the past two weeks.”
In a breakout game, Brown completed 14-of-18 es for 180 yards and two TDs to lead the No. 3-ranked Highlanders (2-1).
Elelyon Noa rushed 21 times for 116 yards and two TDs and caught five es for 79 yards and another score as the Scotties totaled 396 yards. Noa now has 5,218 career rushing yards and moved up two places to No. 9 in section history.
“We didn’t play good, and they’re great,” Cathedral coach Sean Doyle said. “They had two weeks to prepare for us and did a great job.”
As the pre-eminent teams in the section over the past several seasons, both schools lost to national power Folsom in epic state championship games the past two seasons — Helix in 2017, 49-42, and Cathedral last year, 21-14 in overtime.
Early on Friday, Delshawn Traylor raced 62 yards on the fifth play of the game, and Helix never trailed. The Highlanders took a 24-7 lead into halftime after Keionte Scott scored from 33 yards on a fourth-down play.
The Dons made things interesting with two long scoring runs — 41 and 62 yards — by Christian Hall in the third quarter to pull to 24-21. Hall finished with 108 yards on seven carries. Zavien Watson added 91 yards and a TD on 24 carries.
But right after Hall’s second TD, Christian Washington returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards, and Helix went up 31-21 on Noa’s first TD.
Cathedral Catholic 7 0 14 6 – 27
Helix 7 20 7 14 – 45
H – Delshawn Traylor 62 run (Elijah Laing kick)
CC – Zavien Watson 2 run (Trevor Wahl kick)
H – Christian Washington 30 from Kamryn Brown (Elijah Laing kick)
H – FG Elijah Laing 30
H – Keionte Scott 33 run (Elijah Laing kick)
CC – Christian Hall 41 run (Trevor Wahl kick)
CC – Christian Hall 62 run (Trevor Wahl kick)
H – Elelyon Noa 4 run (Elijah Laing kick)
H – Elelyon Noa 44 from Kamryn Brown (Elijah Laing kick)
H – Elelyon Noa 3 run (Elijah Laing kick)
CC – Colman Smith 10 from DJ Ralph ( failed)
Lindgren is a freelance writer.
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