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Highlanders overcome 11-point deficit to advance to Division II title game
Friday night’s Division II semifinal between Helix and Eastlake was a back and forth battle. In the end it was a goal line stand by the Highlanders that made difference in a 27-24 win.
“It was a dogfight all the way through,” said Helix running back and defensive back Travon Van. “We just had to keep playing.”
In the first half, both teams had their offenses rolling. Helix kicked a field goal on the game’s opening possession and it took Eastlake less than three minutes to counter with a Tony Jefferson 10-yard touchdown run for an early 7-3 lead.
The Highlanders reclaimed the lead before the end of the first quarter when a deep ball from Ty Culver bounced off the hands of Eastlake defensive back Fernando Cabico into the arms of Helix running back Jo-Jo Phillips in the endzone for a 61-yard score. That touchdown put the Highlanders up three at the end of the first quarter.
The fast paced game came to a screeching halt early in the second quarter, when Eastlake lineman Ruben Cardenas suffered a stinger and was attended to on the field for 30 minutes. After the delay, however, things picked up right where they left off and Eastlake had a 24-17 after a wild first half.
“We challenged everybody,” said Helix head coach Troy Starr about halftime. “This is a team that since I got here on March 1, has been working out at 6:30 in the morning, working really hard.”
Despite Starr’s challenge to his team, it looked as if the Titans were going to take control of the contest on the opening possession of the second half. Eastlake, however, turned the ball over inside the red zone and Helix quickly tied the game at 24 on the ensuing possession.
That tie wasn’t broken until the fourth quarter, when the Highlanders converted a drive that started at midfield into a 25-yard Jake Reed field goal. Reed’s kick put Helix ahead by three with 5:01 left.
Eastlake took the ensuing drive down the field and looked poised to strike the last blow. After being stopped three times inside the Helix five-yard line, the Titans elected to go for the win from one yard out rather than play for overtime with a field goal.
The gamble did not pay off, as Jefferson was met in the backfield by Helix’s Levine Toilolo and driven for a loss. The Highlanders ran out the final 1:58 for the 27-24 win.
“It was one of those games that was like a great heavyweight fight,” Starr said. “You lose some, you win some and you just have to keep going until the end. It was an eyelash – one yard.”
No. 3 seed Helix (10-1-1) will face top seed Oceanside (11-0-1) in the Division II finals next Friday at Qualcomm Stadium. It will be the fifth time in eight years that the Pirates and Highlanders have met in the stadium.
“Whoever it is, we are going to work really hard on Monday and see them on Friday,” Van said.
Highlanders overcome 11-point deficit to advance to Division II title game
Friday night’s Division II semifinal between Helix and Eastlake was a back and forth battle. In the end it was a goal line stand by the Highlanders that made difference in a 27-24 win.
“It was a dogfight all the way through,” said Helix running back and defensive back Travon Van. “We just had to keep playing.”
In the first half, both teams had their offenses rolling. Helix kicked a field goal on the game’s opening possession and it took Eastlake less than three minutes to counter with a Tony Jefferson 10-yard touchdown run for an early 7-3 lead.
The Highlanders reclaimed the lead before the end of the first quarter when a deep ball from Ty Culver bounced off the hands of Eastlake defensive back Fernando Cabico into the arms of Helix running back Jo-Jo Phillips in the endzone for a 61-yard score. That touchdown put the Highlanders up three at the end of the first quarter.
The fast paced game came to a screeching halt early in the second quarter, when Eastlake lineman Ruben Cardenas suffered a stinger and was attended to on the field for 30 minutes. After the delay, however, things picked up right where they left off and Eastlake had a 24-17 after a wild first half.
“We challenged everybody,” said Helix head coach Troy Starr about halftime. “This is a team that since I got here on March 1, has been working out at 6:30 in the morning, working really hard.”
Despite Starr’s challenge to his team, it looked as if the Titans were going to take control of the contest on the opening possession of the second half. Eastlake, however, turned the ball over inside the red zone and Helix quickly tied the game at 24 on the ensuing possession.
That tie wasn’t broken until the fourth quarter, when the Highlanders converted a drive that started at midfield into a 25-yard Jake Reed field goal. Reed’s kick put Helix ahead by three with 5:01 left.
Eastlake took the ensuing drive down the field and looked poised to strike the last blow. After being stopped three times inside the Helix five-yard line, the Titans elected to go for the win from one yard out rather than play for overtime with a field goal.
The gamble did not pay off, as Jefferson was met in the backfield by Helix’s Levine Toilolo and driven for a loss. The Highlanders ran out the final 1:58 for the 27-24 win.
“It was one of those games that was like a great heavyweight fight,” Starr said. “You lose some, you win some and you just have to keep going until the end. It was an eyelash – one yard.”
No. 3 seed Helix (10-1-1) will face top seed Oceanside (11-0-1) in the Division II finals next Friday at Qualcomm Stadium. It will be the fifth time in eight years that the Pirates and Highlanders have met in the stadium.
“Whoever it is, we are going to work really hard on Monday and see them on Friday,” Van said.