SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Football

Helix wins battle of 2000 CIF champions

by Joe Naiman

Two schools who won 2000 CIF San Diego Section football
championships played each other in Fallbrook August 31 to open the 2001
season, with the 2001 Helix High School squad earning a 55-21 victory
over the 2001 Fallbrook High School team.

"I was extremely impressed by the way our defense played tonight,"
said Helix coach Gordon Wood. "We played a great football team and
we're just happy that we could walk off and do what we did."

On December 9, 2000, Helix won the Division II CIF championship
while Fallbrook won the Division I CIF championship. But of the 44
Fallbrook players on the roster for their final 2000 regular-season
game, 24 seniors - including four of Fallbrook's five all-CIF players
and seven of eight first-team Avocado League selections -- and 5 juniors
from last year were gone from the 2001 team. Helix lost 21 seniors from
the 2000 championship team but maintained Reggie Bush, who gained more
than 1,034 rushing yards and 1,709 all-purpose yards as a sophomore last
year and scored 14 touchdowns, three on punt or kickoff returns.

"He's the fastest guy in the state and he showed it, especially
going against a new defense," Fallbrook coach Dennis Houlihan said of
Bush.

Six of Fallbrook's offensive starters were on last year's team, but
the Warriors' defense had a minimum of eight new faces. Bush had three
rushing touchdowns against the Warriors as well as a 95-yard punt
return.

"Not a good way to start my career, but it's not a season-ending
loss either. Our kids did the best they could," Houlihan said of his
first game as Fallbrook's head coach.

After Ryan Plackemeier's opening kickoff was returned to the 24,
Helix mounted a 76-yard drive which began with a five-yard run by Bush
and ended with a five-yard pass from Alex Smith to Charlie Smith with
4:55 left in the first quarter. Fallbrook's defense had given the
Highlanders a third-and-13 situation at the Helix 36, but the Smiths
connected for a 27-yard pass for a first down which brought the ball
into Fallbrook territory. Helix also overcame a third-and-seven
situation at the Fallbrook 14, bringing the ball to the 7 on a Rainbow
Mauga run before a fourth-and-inches quarterback sneak moved the ball to
the 5. The next two plays lost a yard and gained a yard for Helix
before the third-down touchdown pass. Devin Descenzo kicked the extra
point to give Helix a 7-0 lead.

Malik Legree took the kickoff on the four-yard-line and returned
the ball 43 yards to the Fallbrook 47. After an incomplete pass Taylor
Nelson ran 15 yards to put the ball at the Helix 38. Ryan Jorde's
three-yard run was followed by a 35-yard carry by Jeremiah McLeod,
putting Fallbrook on the scoreboard with 3:51 left in the quarter.
Plackemeier's extra point tied the game at seven apiece.

Although Sam Powell muffed Plackemeier's arching kickoff and the
Highlanders took possession at their own 19, Alex Smith threw a bomb on
the next play which Charlie Smith caught inside the Fallbrook 35. Smith
continued into the end zone for the 81-yard touchdown, and Descenzo's
extra point made the score 14-7.

Jon Morgan converted a fourth-down run for a first down on
Fallbrook's next possession, but the Warriors stalled at the Helix 48
and punted on fourth down and seven. Bush took Plackemeier's punt at
the 5-yard-line and avoided all tacklers for the 95-yard touchdown
return. The point after gave Helix a 21-7 lead with 28 seconds left in
the quarter.

Fallbrook converted a pair of third-down situations on the
Warriors' next possession, but on third and seven at the Helix 40 Jorde
was dropped for a four-yard loss and the Warriors punted. Helix lost a
yard on three plays and punted the ball back to the Warriors, who took
possession on the Highlander 36 after a 17-yard punt return by Legree.
Morgan gained ten yards for a first down, but another four-yard
loss on third down gave the Warriors fourth and 12 at the Helix 28.
Plackemeier tried a 46-yard field goal, but his kick was wide and the
Highlanders took possession at their own 28.

Helix gained four first downs on the next five plays, bringing the
ball to Fallbrook's 20. A three-yard run was followed by a Helix
holding penalty, giving the Highlanders second and 17 on the Fallbrook
28. Bush then gained 25 yards for the first down, and Darell Hutsona
ran for the final two yards. Descenzo's kick gave Helix a 28-7 lead
with 3:33 left in the half.

A fair catch on Descenzo's kickoff gave Fallbrook the ball on their
own 25. Nick Underseth completed an eight-yard pass to Jorde, and
Legree ran 13 yards for a first down. McLeod gained two yards to take
the ball to Fallbrook's 48, and Underseth then threw to Adam Burke for
what would have been a 27-yard completion had it not been nullified by
an illegal procedure penalty. The next penalty, a pass interference
call, was on Helix, giving Fallbrook a first down at the Highlander 42.
On the next play McLeod ran 42 yards for his second touchdown of the
night, and Plackemeier's extra point made the score 28-14 with 1:56 left
in the half.

A Fallbrook facemask penalty on the kickoff return gave Helix the
ball at their own 46, and after a four-yard run by Bush the Warriors
made their first interception of the season when Myron Burgoon picked
off Alex Smith's bomb at the Fallbrook 6. The Warriors gained six yards
on three plays before Plackemeier's punt went out of bounds at the
Fallbrook 32, only 17 yards from the line of scrimmage, with 11 seconds
left. A pass to Charlie Smith took the ball to the Fallbrook 16 with
seven seconds left, but Morgan blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt to
keep the halftime margin to 14 points.

Legree returned the second-half kickoff 39 yards to the Fallbrook
46, and two Fallbrook runs gave the Warriors a first down at the Helix
44. The Warriors lost a yard over the next three plays before punting,
but the Warrior defense held Helix to six yards over the next three
plays. Bush showed that he can punt as well as run, advancing the ball
45 yards from the line of scrimmage and giving the Warriors possession
at their own 20.

Fallbrook would have a one-play possession, as Michael Balacek
would recover a fumble at the 29 to give the Highlanders possession.
After 14-yard and 10-yard runs by Bush, Rajive Otah gained the final
five yards for a touchdown with 6:52 left in the quarter, and Descenzo's
kick gave Helix a 35-14 lead.

Descenzo's short kickoff resulted in Ryan Connally calling for a
fair catch on the Fallbrook 33. Connally was hit anyway, resulting in a
personal foul call against Helix. That penalty was followed by an
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Helix, giving Fallbrook
possession at the Highlander 37.

A seven-yard run by Kyson Hawkins was followed by a 15-yard McLeod
run for a first down on the Helix 15. Legree gained eight yards on the
next play, and then Hawkins gained the final seven. The extra point
made the score 35-21 with 5:39 to play in the third quarter.

Plackemeier's kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback, but
Helix ran for three first downs to bring the ball to the Fallbrook 38.
Bush then ran for the remainder of the yardage with 3:27 remaining in
the quarter, although his somersault into the end zone was greeted with
a personal foul penalty which kept Descenzo from making the extra point.
Fallbrook lost a yard on three plays following McLeod's kickoff
return, and Bush returned Plackemeier's 43-yard punt five yards to the
Helix 37. After 13-yard and 11-yard runs, Otah recovered his own fumble
on the Fallbrook 41 to give Helix second and 12. A 17-yard screen pass
to Charlie Smith gave Helix a first down at the 24, and Bush then ran
for a 24-yard touchdown with 35 seconds left in the quarter. The extra
point give Helix a 48-21 lead.

Connally called for another fair catch as the kickoff was taken on
the Fallbrook 39. After a one-yard loss Jorde gained 11 yards on the
final play of the third quarter, and a late hit brought the ball to the
Helix 36. Fallbrook gained three yards on the next two plays, giving
the Warriors third and seven. Connally, who had taken over at
quarterback, passed to McLeod for a 15-yard gain and a first down, and
McLeod then rushed for three yards to move the ball to the Helix 15.
A fumble on the next play was recovered by Marc Pendleton, giving
Helix possession on their own 17. Two one-yard losses and a penalty
gave Helix fourth and 17 at their own 10, but Legree mishandled Bush's
43-yard punt and Helix recovered the fumble at the Fallbrook 45.

Fallbrook's defense held Helix to one yard on the next two plays,
but the third-down swing pass to Bush gained 22 yards and a first down.
A six-yard run was followed by Mike Davis' sack of Smith, giving the
Highlanders third and 13 on the 25. A pass to Charlie Smith gained back
ten of those yards, and Bush then gained five yards for a first down at
the 10.

The Warrior defense held Mauga for no gain, and Powell ran for five
yards to set up third and goal at the 5. On the quarterback option
Smith was held for no gain, giving the Highlanders fourth and goal at
the 5. Fallbrook was called for 12 men on the field, putting the ball
at the 2, and Bush ran two yards four a touchdown with 2:23 left. The
point after gave Helix a 55-21 lead.

McLeod returned the kickoff from the 4 to the 23, and on third and
seven Jorde gained 31 yards on a reverse to take the ball into Helix
territory. Two more runs gave Fallbrook first and ten at the Highlander
30, but the next two plays were a fumble which Connally recovered and an
interception on which Helix's Ray Toiloto ran out the clock.

"I just knew it was going to be a shootout," Houlihan said. "They
did a good job, but when I score 21 points I expect to be on the winning
side."

Wood was aware that Fallbrook stresses conditioning and that many
of the Warrior players were in good shape. "We felt we needed to take
some of that wind and slow them down a little bit," he said.

Last year Wood was the first-year coach; he took over the
Highlanders after Jim Arnaiz retired. Wood has yet to lose a game with
Helix, who went 13-0 last season.

Although Helix may have the better team this year, the results
might not be the same in a game played between the two teams in
subsequent years. Fallbrook's junior varsity defeated Helix, 41-6.

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