Highlanders deliver impressive statement

LA MESA – In a pairing if ball clubs suffering through the “what if” scenario all offseason, the Helix Highlanders rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit and immediately put themselves back into serious Open Division contention by defeating the visiting Edison Chargers at Benton Hart Stadium.

The teams were playing on short notice after Helix agreed to a game following the Chargers’ trip to Hawai’i being canceled due to the fire disaster onthe island of Maui.

Although publicly congratulating their opponents, Helix and Edison wondered what couldve happened if they collected league champiuonships in 2023.

The Scotties went into a fourth overtime period against eventual champion Granite Hills, but a near-perfect 2-point conversion pass attempt was incomplete to lift the Eagles to a long-awaited Grossmont Hills League crown.

A similar occurance saw the Chargers fall to the Los Alamitos Griffins in the CIF Southern Section’s powerful Sunset League finale. Los Al then won four straight postseason contests before falling to Santa Ana-Mater Dei in stunning fashion, 52-0.

Meanwhile, Helix captured the San Diego Section Division I crown just two years ago, but fell in the state playoffs to Mater Dei Catholic, of Chula Vista, that season causing the Crusaders to somewhat object to their promotion to D-I status.

The Highlanders were stunned, however, on their home tartan last season when El Camino rallied for a fourth-quarter victory in the quarterfinal round, a place where Helix usually doesn’t exit.

For Helix to rally past Edison, Kevin Allen III rushed for 102 yards.

Meanwhile, a balanced Helix attack saw quarterback Rylan Jessee throw for 245 yards ob 13-for-18 passing, good for TD connections to seniors Jackson Daniels and Kyzza Matovu.

In addition, 6-foot-2 sophomore Brandon Arrington collected a 52-yard pass for a key third-down conversion.

After finally pulling event at 24-all Jessee found NAME on a 29-yard TD pass for the Scotties first lead of the contest at 3-24. On the next possession an 11-yard Jessee TD pass made it 38-24, capping an impressive 31-7 scoring streak.

The Chargers answered with a 10-0 run, then regained possession with a chance to win. However, Jessee, Helix’s outstanding two-way performer, registered his second interceptionof the contes with four minutes remaining to clinch the triumph. Jessee posted 50 return yards on his thefts.