East County Sports

Scotties call off dogs, then hang on

Helix head coach Robbie Owens during a sideline huddle on Friday night. / photo by Larry Montalbano

2019 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL

No. 1 HELIX 44, No. 2 ST. AUGUSTINE 38

 

EastCountySports.com staff report

 

SAN DIEGO – Following a loss to an out-of-state opponent, the Helix Highlanders were thought to need at least one win against traditional section rivals Cathedral Catholic and St. Augustine to even have a shot at gaining a berth in the section’s four-team Open Division playoffs this season.

The Scotties got a little more than a split.

In the span of seven days, Helix nearly dominated its two Gauntlet Series opponents to sweep the regular-season series against the Dons and Saints after holding off St. Augustine, 44-38, at Mesa College on Friday night.

The Highlanders and Saints during the coin toss on Friday. / photo by Larry Montalbano

Senior running back Elelyon Noa rushed for 271 yards as the Highlanders rolled to a 44-17 lead before holding off a ferocious charge by the hosts in the fourth quarter.

Noa now has 5,489 career yards, moving past USDHS’ Justin Green (5,397) to No. 8 all-time in the section. He needs only 162 yards to move into the No. 5 slot. Next on the list are Mission Bay’s Dillon Baxter (5,539), Cathedral’s Tyler Gaffney (5,547) and Cathedral’s Demetrius Sumler (5,650).

Helix senior wide receiver Keionte Scott had a pair of touchdowns in the first half, including a 72-yarder, from senior quarterback Kamryn Brown to help Helix take a 31-10 lead at halftime.

Senior linebacker Jeremiah Fletcher picked up a fumble and ran it in for a 25-yard score in the first quarter as Helix got the first touchdown of the game.

Highlander senior quarterback Delshawn Traylor added a 19-yard touchdown in the first quarter, helping the Scotties take a 14-0 lead after one quarter.

Senior place-kicker Elijah Laing added a 19-yard field goal in the first half.

Noa extended Helix’s lead to 38-10 with an 8-yard score early in the third quarter for his only touchdown of the contest. Helix (3-1) got possession of the ball when St. Augustine couldn’t handle the second-half kickoff.

Sophomore Christian Washington added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Scots.

St. Augustine’s Byron Cardwell had three touchdowns, two of them coming in the fourth quarter, as the Saints pulled to within a touchdown with 1:45 left in the game. He had a 55-yard reception in the third quarter.

St. Augustine (4-1) nearly had its own scoop-n-score in the second quarter, still ending up with a 2-yard touchdown pass to close the lead to 14-7.

Helix will face Southern Section opponent Oaks Christian (2-3), of Westlake Village, next Friday at Hart Stadium at 7.

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