By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (11-26-11) — No matter who the Helix Highlanders face it seems like the results are the same. That was the case again in Friday’s (Nov. 25) San Diego CIF Division II quarterfinal when Helix hammered Torrey Pines 44-7.

Highlanders quarterback BRANDON LEWIS completed 10 of 15 passes for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns as top-ranked Helix (10-1) torpedoed Torrey Pines (5-7) to advance to Friday’s (Dec. 2) semifinals.

CAMERON LEE reeled in four passes for 102 yards including a 56-yard touchdown strike from Lewis that made it 7-0 in the opening quarter.

“We clicked on our passing game all night,” Lee said. “We might have started out slow but we were prepared.”

Torrey Pines was never a factor in this game as the Highlanders streaked to a 20-0 first quarter lead. By halftime it was 30-0.

“We were a little sloppy at times but I never thought the game was out of our reach,” said Helix coach TROY STARR. “Now we’re getting into the tough teams. There will be no gimmees from now on.”

As usual Helix’s individual stats were impressive.

MICHAEL ADKINS carried the ball only five times but garnered 106 yards including a 54-yard touchdown romp.

JIMMY PRUITT was all over the field for the Highlanders. Not only did he catch three passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, he also intercepted a pass and rushed for 8 yards on one carry.

© East County Sports.com
OCEANSIDE (11-26-11) — Come playoff time, few teams in the San Diego Section have been more successful than the Oceanside Pirates.

But in Friday (Nov. 25) night’s SDCIF Division II quarterfinals it was the Pirates (8-2-1) who were on the verge of falling off the plank courtesy of upstart Valhalla (8-4).

Oceanside, which is seeking its eighth straight Division II championship, trailed the Norsemen 28-24 with 7:47 left to play, but managed to pull out a 31-28 victory.

Valhalla quarterback FRANK FOSTER threw a touchdown pass to JEVON HASTEN and scored on a 3-yard run to give the Norsemen a 4-point lead midway through the final period.

The Pirates, who once held a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter, regained the advantage on William Gulley’s fourth touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run with 4:49 remaining in the contest.

But the Norsemen refused to raise the white flag. Valhalla could have settled for a game-tying field goal on a 4th-and-10 play with 18 seconds remaining. Instead, Foster lofted a fade pass intended for Hasten in the end zone with 9 seconds remaining in hopes of pulling off the upset.

“It was a jump ball,” said Valhalla coach CHARLES BUSSEY. “Give credit to their defender (Germain Calhoun) because he made a great play to make the interception.”

It was a bitter defeat for Valhalla.

“We had them on the ropes but couldn’t get it done,” Bussey said. “Looking back on it there were a lot of things that went against us.”

Most obvious was a 25-yard touchdown run by KYLE QUARLES on a fourth-and-8 that was nullified with 2 minutes to go in the game.

“That would have given us a little bit of a cushion,” Bussey noted. “We proved that we can play with anybody but we’re losing a lot of senior leadership this year. I don’t have the numbers in front of me but Foster had another great game as did defensive back SOWELL ELDER and linebacker ANTHONY BUZZELL.

“This senior group was special,” added Bussey. “I’m sorry we couldn’t go further.”

Foster completed 17 of 23 passes for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also rushed for 105 yards and a score on 17 carries. Foster finished the season with 2,933 total yards and 39 TDs.

KEVIN MILLS snagged seven passes for 95 yards and a TD against the Pirates.

For the Pirates, it's their SDCIF record 18th straight trip to the semifinals.

SANTANA 41, IMPERIAL 13 – Host Santana got the best of its desert nemesis in Friday (Nov. 25) night’s San Diego CIF Division IV contest. It was tooth and nail in the first half as the Sultans secured a 10-7 halftime lead.

The Sultans shifted into high gear in the second half and turned the game into a blowout, which qualified the 10-1 Santee crew to a semifinal home date next week against Coronado.

Having a three-week layoff was obvious at the start for Santana.

“We were a little bit rusty,” said Sultans running back SPENCER LOVE, who finished with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 18 rushes. “Once we finally got going things started to fall into place. Not only did our line open up holes, they stayed with their blocks and that made it so much easier to run.”

After a scoreless first quarter, BRAD CORNISH kicked his East County-best 7th field goal from 31 yards out, spotting Santana a lead that the Sultans would never give up.

Love added touchdown runs of 1 and 23 yards, staking Santana to a 17-7 lead midway through the third quarter.

“Our running game was there and that can only help our passing game,” said Love.

Santana finished with 392 yards totals offense.

“The key to beating these guys was we did a good job of containing No. 21 (Royce Freeman),” Sultans coach DAVE GROSS said. “He’s a big-time player and they moved him all over the place, but we were able to hold him to 3-7 yards a play.

“We’ve been known more for our offense over the years but our defensive effort was really good in this game.”

Santana quarterback KYLE GASNER was economically sound as he completed 8 of 11 passes for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns – one to LANDON LOZOYA for 22 yards and one to T.D. GROSS for 33.

MISSION HILLS 21, STEELE CANYON 7 – Everything this 2011 season has both challenged and haunted the Steele Canyon Cougars with this year finally coming full circle Friday night (Nov 25) on the road against Mission Hills in the San Diego CIF Division II quarterfinals.

Injuries have dropped Cougars left and right. Trailing by only a single touchdown with 4:17 potentially left in their season they went all out to block the punt.

Three players converged right at the punter’s foot, but came just fingertips away from a block as the Grizzlies managed to force them into the most imaginable daunting task a team with a depleted offense could face.

With 99 yards to go and the season on the line, the Cougars had only one timeout remaining against a stingy Grizzlies defense that had only allowed 87 total yards the entire game to that point.

The Cougars would unfortunately only manage to gain 33 yards before failing to convert on downs and after collecting 136 yards on 39 offensive plays their season was suddenly over in a heartbeat as they fell to the Grizzlies.

“We all worked hard, but in the end it sucks to lose your last one as a senior,” linebacker JAKE RUYSSCHAERT stated.

He went on to finish the night with 2 tackles for loss and 10 tackles total, but the force in which they came was spine tingling not only to the Grizzlies players, but also to those in attendance as “oohs and ahhs” emerged from the crowd.

It’s also no fun when an extremely controversial call doesn’t go your way.

With just 50 seconds left, a 3-yard attempt to make it a 14-point lead turned things upside down for Steele Canyon.

The ball carrier was met at the line of scrimmage and a good ole rugby scrum broke out. No whistles were blown until Cougars defensive back MICHAEL JORDAN was sprinting 20 yards downfield the other way with ball in hand and the opportunity to miraculously knot things up.

“The ball was on the ground for a good 7 seconds, but the referees never saw it,” head Coach RON BOEHMKE said of the melee. “Unfortunately there isn’t 12 cameras around and instant replay at this level.”

Steele Canyon definitely had its fair share of opportunities in this one, even without its offense making any noise.

Trailing 7-0 with less than a minute before halftime two Cougars senior defensive linemen took matters into their own hands.

In his first game back from injury 6-foot-5, 210-pound senior defensive end BEN GOSSMEYER appeared to throw a wrench into Mission Hills’ plans.

“I went to the outside and the quarterback just sat there long enough for me to get there,” he said after nailing Connor Wynn and jarring the ball free.

“My main man Big Ben got the sack just like we wanted and I just scooped it up and took it to the house,” P.J. RUSSELL said of his 55-yard record-tying romp visit to paydirt, which tied the SC record set by JOE MORGAN against Eastlake in 2007.

“I can’t tell you how great it felt to see my friend score after my play,” Gossmeyer said. “I was just trying to make a block for him.”

The Cougars defense did an outstanding job against Wynn as they held him to just 5-of-8 passing, but the ball control ground game of the Grizzlies played a major role in their victory.

With the score tied coming out of the locker room at halftime Wynn led them on an 18-play, 94-yard drive that also drained 9:50 off the clock.

JONATHON GAUTHIER and LaSHAWN WARE had 8 tackles each and MAURICE McNAMARA collected 7 stops in his first game back from injury.

“Overall we had a great season,” Russell said. “We definitely had a lot of ups and downs. Even though we lost a bunch of people we kept bouncing back.”

“I was really proud of our guys for battling all season long,” Boehmke said. “That’s why you coach this game – so you can see these guys grow and develop character. From all the injuries we had to the way certain guys adjusted to things, like T.J. CARLYON taking on a different role and BRANDON ANDRADE (8-21, 93 yards vs. Mission Hills) stepping up and playing well at quarterback. All the other guys we had to move in and out of position and we still stayed competitive. I couldn’t be prouder!”

– Andrew Smith

The first quarter of this contest turned into a track meet in a hurry as the visiting Islanders scored on their first possession, and Mount Miguel would return the favor on one play, 10 seconds later on a DERRICK DUNN 81-yard kickoff return to go up 8-7. The score at the end a lengthy first quarter 20-17 in favor of Coronado.

However, matters got worse for the Matadors (8-2), who wound up trailing 34-17 at the intermission.

This Matadors football team came out like champs on defense in particular as they forced two of Coronado ’s first two drives of the second half into a punt and turnover on downs.

Mount Miguel’s offense would quickly award the defense scoring on its next drive with a 5-yard burst via “The Bulldozer,” TONY DOZIER. He would finish the night with 6 carries for 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The closest Mount Miguel (8-2) would get in the second half was 34-24 with 4:11 left in the third quarter.

“We thought we matched up pretty well with these guys on paper,” explained a frustrated Karlo. “We just kept having to claw on a two score game, and even when we got close, we would shoot ourselves in the foot.”

The Matadors turned the ball over six times, and were never quite able to make a comeback.

“I told our kids it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about how you handle it and grow,” Karlo said.

The Matadors would score one last time with 1:49 left, but it was too little too late.

“It just wasn’t our night,” Karlo said “We couldn’t get it together on either side of the ball.”

Coronado will face another Grossmont League foe in the SDCIF semifinals, the Santana Sultans, who come off an equally convincing win this week over Imperial.

Dunn turned in a great performance on the ground to end his career at Mount Miguel.

– Dave Dickens

POINT LOMA 45, EL CAPITAN 21 – Upset-minded El Capitan, which knocked out favored Mt. Carmel in the first round of the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs last week, took an early lead in Friday’s (Nov. 25) quarterfinals against No. 4 seed Point Loma but could not sustain the momentum.

An El Capitan record 98-yard scoring run by quarterback JOSH MURPHY staked the Vaqueros to a 7-0 first quarter lead. The game remained toe-to-toe until 19 seconds remained in the third quarter. After that the Pointers (8-2-1) ran wild, outscoring the Vaqueros 28-7 down the home stretch.

A quarterback sneak from a yard out by Murphy on the first play of the 4th quarter pulled the Vaqueros to within 24-21.

“Murphy is probably the most complete player in our ( Grossmont Valley ) League,” El Capitan coach RON BURNER said.

Murphy finished with 107 yards on nine rushes, completed 8 of 21 passes for 93 yards and averaged 41.8 yards on six punts.

“His long run came on a second down QB sneak when they had a blitz on,” Burner said of Murphy. “Then when he scored on that sneak we were right there. But Point Loma is a big physical team with speed. I think they just wore us out.”

GRANT KIRBY led El Capitan with five receptions for 78 yards.

The Pointers’ speed off the edges was a clear disadvantage for the Vaqueros (4-8).

“Overall we couldn’t run the ball because they had nine guys in the box,” Burner said.

SAN PASQUAL 35, GROSSMONT 7 – The visiting Foothillers were hoping for a little déjà vu when they fell behind No. 4 seed San Pasqual (8-2-1) in Friday’s (Nov. 25) San Diego CIF Division I quarterfinal playoff encounter.

The Golden Eagles led 21-0 at the half and 35-0 heading into the final period.

“I guess we were all out of miracle comebacks,” Grossmont coach RON MURPHY said.

Grossmont (6-5-1), the No. 12 seed, rallied from a 25-0 halftime deficit to stun No. 5 seed Mira Mesa a week ago in a first round bout.

The Foothillers avoided a shutout when sophomore quarterback ANTHONY LAWRENCE flipped a 9-yard scoring pass to junior TRENT GALKOSKI in the 4th quarter.

Lawrence completed 17 of 29 passes for 228 yards, but suffered three interceptions. San Pasqual also snagged a halfback pass. Three of the Eagles’ thefts came in the San Pasqual end zone.

“We left three other scoring chances on the table,” Murphy said. “But even if we had gotten all of those I’m not sure we would have beaten them.”

Junior RYAN GREEN caught five passes for 80 yards for Grossmont and Galkoski and JOSH ANDERSON reeled in three balls apiece. Green also pirated a San Pasqual pass and returned it 60 yards, just shy of the Golden Eagles’ end zone.

Grossmont’s running game was dealt an early blow when ace LAWRENCE WALKER rolled an ankle and missed the majority of the contest. Walker finished with 28 yards on 10 carries.

Helix begins quest for state bowl bid
CIF San Diego Section title not enough

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (11-24-11) — Rarely has there been a team more powerful than these Helix Highlanders, who are all but a sure thing to qualify for a berth in the state playoffs.

Sure, Helix stumbled in its opener against Eastlake, yet there’s no team in the state that wants to play these Highlanders.

“Having two weeks off, we’d like to look at it as a plus,” said Helix coach TROY STARR.

Helix has outscored its last nine opponents by a 439-65 count.

“I won’t argue about it but obviously I think it’s an added huge adrenalin rush for us,” Starr said.

Starr wanted to heap accolades on his journeyman assistant coach JIM NOTTOLI.

“You can’t find assistant coaches of his caliber,” Starr said. “He has a wealth of knowledge and detail. We’re so happy to have him because you can’t find guys like him anymore.”

The Helix defense is anchored by lineman AMU MILO, linebackers GARY THOMPSON, ROCKY FUGA and KACY SMITH along with corner JIMMY PRUITT.

Quarterback Andrew Perkins directs the Torrey Pines attack, while running back Andrew Fargo leads the ground game. But these guys are not capable of matching up with the Highlanders.

The all-time series between these two teams is 1-1-1, but the odds favor Helix heavily this time... Helix 34-14.

“That has to be some kind of advantage for us,” Mount Miguel coach TOM KARLO said. “That and our ‘no huddle offense’ give us a chance to wear teams down.”

Big plays have been a trademark for the Grossmont Valley League champion Matadors. That should not cease in the playoffs.

“This is a good matchup for us,” Karlo said. “We are built to face the blitz and that’s what I expect to see from Coronado. We’ve been able to get a lot of big plays against blitzing teams.”

Head of the Mount Miguel offensive class is East County rushing leader DERRICK DUNN (1409 all-purpose yards, 102 points). Quarterback ERNEST WILLIAMS (1676 yards, 25 TDs) is another igniter for the break-way Matadors.

“Our game is to pop big plays,” Karlo said.

Karlo acknowledges that the Islanders have a blue chip quarterback in double-threat Austin Denson (129-240, 1579 passing, 16 TDs plus 83-564, 7 TDs rushing).

Of course, Denson will be under siege led by Matadors defensive end CORY LITTLETON (14 sacks), tackle MALCOM JACKSON (6 sacks) and linebacker TREVION WILSON (12 tackles for losses).

“We’ve had a week’s rest so we should be ready to do,” Karlo said. “What it comes down to now is can we win three games in 11 days. It’s a tall order, but I like our chances.”

These teams have never met and Coronado will find out why now is not a good time to initiate a new series... Mount Miguel 35-14.

VALHALLA (8-3) at (3) OCEANSIDE (7-2-1) — The visiting Norsemen have never beaten perennial San Diego CIF Division II power Oceanside in four previous outings. Only once in those four engagements has Valhalla scored more than 7 points.

However, the Valhalla unit is averaging 34.6 points per start heading into Friday’s (Nov. 25) Division II quarterfinal in the harbor city. It’s no secret who fuels the fire for the Norsemen. Senior quarterback FRANK FOSTER (2,584 yards total offense, 36 TDs) is a scoring machine, with a cadre of receivers including ROBERT “TEX” RUIZ (40-607, 5 TDs), JEVON HASTEN (35-610, 10 TDs) and KEVIN MILLS (26-527, 5 TDs).

QB Tofi Paopao (1203 yards, 12 TDs) is the Pirates ringleader.

Post-season play is when the Pirates are at their best. Proof is Oceanside has captured seven consecutive SDCIF Division II crowns... UPSET SPECIAL... Valhalla 28-22.

EL CAPITAN (4-7) vs. POINT LOMA (7-2-1), at San Diego High – Are the Vaqueros up for an encore in Friday’s (Nov. 25) SDCIF Division III quarterfinal?

No. 12 seed El Capitan stunned fifth-seeded Mt. Carmel in last week’s playoff opener 35-13. Only once in 11 games has El Capitan scored more than that this season.

“It seems like Point Loma is a top four seed every year,” El Capitan coach RON BURNER said. “We beat them (31-21 during the regular season) last year and that was more on emotion.”

For El Capitan, offensively, everything focuses upon do-it-all senior JOSH MURPHY (1,139 all-purpose yards). He’s also scored 71 points and now takes the snaps at quarterback.

“I expect a physical game,” Burner said. “No way (No. 4 seed) Point Loma will be looking past us. I think our kids believe in themselves more now after the Mt. Carmel game. But we will have to be at our best to win this week.”

These teams have shared two common opponents. The most glaring difference was against Serra. El Capitan lost to the Qs 37-30 and was 1 yard from the end zone as time expired. The Pointers pummeled the Qs 61-13. Both teams were destroyed by Mount Miguel – Pt. Loma lost 41-7 and El Capitan succumbed 42-0.

The all-time series is knotted at 2-2-1, but the edge goes to... Point Loma 27-14.

STEELE CANYON (8-3) at MISSION HILLS (6-3-1) – The visiting Cougars need a victory over No. 4 seed and host Mission Hills in Friday’s (Nov. 25) San Diego CIF Division II playoffs to qualify for the division semifinals for the fourth straight season.

Knocking off Mission Hills will be no small task, considering the Grizzlies recovered from opening the season with three straight losses by going undefeated in their last seven games. This is a double-threat team that prefers to pass but is equally capable of running the ball.

“This will be a much more challenging game,” said Steele Canyon coach RON BOEHMKE, who’s Cougars eliminated Scripps Ranch 21-7 in the opening round.

“They’re much stronger, considering they tied Oceanside (10-10). Mission Hills has a definite size advantage on us but I think we have the edge in speed and athleticism.”

Injuries have plagued the Cougars throughout the season, but Boehmke always seems to find someone to fill the void.

BRANDON ANDRADE has stepped in and done a marvelous job at quarterback, completing more than 50 percent of 91 passes for 853 yards and 8 touchdowns.

A newcomer to the Steele Canyon lineup is sophomore running back LAWRENCE DICKENS. The 5-foot-8, 140 pound speedster will show Mission Hills something they haven’t seen on previous Steele Canyon tapes.

“He’s got some shakes and plenty of speed,” Boehmke said of Dickens.

A couple of pluses on the Steele Canyon defense are the return of defensive end BEN GOSSMEYER and corner MAURICE McNAMARA.

Running back Adam Renteria (1349 yards, 15 TDs) leads the Grizzlies’ ground game, while quarterback Hunter Moore (129-206, 1915, 24 TDs) leads the aerial attack.

Mission Hills is now back at full strength as well so this game becomes a pickem’... Mission Hills 20-16.

HORIZON (4-7) vs. CHRISTIAN (7-3), at Granite Hills – The No. 2 seed Patriots scored on five of their six first-half possessions when these teams met in a regular season Coastal League joust that resulted in a 41-20 victory for Christian.

Christian coach MATT OLIVER doesn’t believe it will be an easy stepping stone to the next round when these teams meet in Friday’s (Nov. 25) SDCIF Division V quarterfinals.

“We’re not used to playing a team of this caliber in our first playoff game,” he said. “They have some big playmakers and we have some playmakers too. I think the difference is we have more to stop them with. I know we’re better up front than they are.”

Probably the key for Christian is the work of its defensive front anchored by TYLER LESLIE, JACK VANDERBILT, ADDA KORKIS, GRANT TODD and JASON GAINES.

Linebackers RAYVON OWENS and TRENT SAULS, along with SETH COLLINS also give sting to this underrated unit.

Of course Christian usually outscores the majority of its opponents, averaging 33.3 points per game.

SHANE DILLON is East County’s passing leader (2429 yards, 18 TDs) and Owens, a 5-foot-10, 180 pound junior, has rushed for more yards than anybody in East County (1056, 16 TDs).

Christian leads the all-time series 9-6-1 and should reach double figures this time around... Christian 44-22.

GROSSMONT (6-4-1) at (4) SAN PASQUAL (7-2-1) – When the Division I playoff pairings were drawn most of those involved figured that Grossmont would not be a factor. In the first half of last week’s opening round, when the Foothillers trailed 25-0, that prognostication looked to be true.

But there’s something about these Foothillers that cannot be measured by the emotional yardstick. Grossmont bounced back to win 33-25.

“That’s something you can’t predict,” said Foothillers coach RON MURPHY.

The spark was provided by sophomore quarterback ANTHONY LAWRENCE, who passed for a career high 334 yards and 3 touchdowns.

“In the four years I’ve been here I’ve never seen a comeback like that,” Murphy added. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be part of a bigger comeback than that. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

San Pasqual will attack the Foothillers with ball control offense, which is traditional in their huddle. Quarterback Tyler Tony is an all-purpose performer for the Golden Eagles.

“He’s like Doug Flutie on steroids,” Murphy said of Tony. “He’s a broken field runner who can throw on the run.”

San Pasqual has won three of the four meetings between the two teams and although this game’s a toss-up, the nod goes to... San Pasqual 28-14.

IMPERIAL (8-2-1) at (4) SANTANA (9-1) – These teams have almost become so-called rivals. That is, they have met six times in the last five years. Bottom line is the Sultans hold a 5-1-1 edge.

By the same token the only time the Sultans fell short was in the 2010 Division IV playoffs when they were eliminated by the Tigers 18-7 in the opening round.

History doesn’t really matter to Santana coach DAVE GROSS, who’s Sultans will have to show what it’s like to have three consecutive weeks off.

“It’s a good-news, bad-news kind of deal,” Gross said. “Obviously it’s good to allow us to get our banged up guys healthy, but by the same token having so much time off makes you wonder what it will do to hurt your team’s momentum.”

No question senior LANDON LOZOYA (1304 yards, 78 points) is the Santana kingpin. KYLE GASNER (1683 yards, 22 TDs) has been steady at quarterback.

As cantankerous as these two teams have been in recent years, logistics says the winner should be... Santana 38-23.