San Diego Prep Review / Steve Scott : Helix Climbs the Ladder of Success : Highlanders Take High Road to 3-A Championship Game

If Helix High School goes on to win the 3-A Conference football championship, nobody can say the Highlanders didn’t deserve it.

Helix (11-1) beat City Eastern League champion Morse in the first round and ended Sweetwater’s 36-game winning streak in the semifinals. Vista, which beat Granite Hills, 43-9, Saturday, is the Highlanders’ final opponent.

This latest Vista rout makes Helix an overwhelming underdog. But, then again, Helix wasn’t given much of a chance against Sweetwater.

“Sweetwater was the defending champion and they had the streak,” Helix Coach Jim Arnaiz said. “All the pressure was on them. There really wasn’t any pressure on us.”

Helix played like a team with nothing to lose Friday as it scored a 15-6 upset victory in the mud. Since 1980, Sweetwater has lost a total three games--two to Helix.

“To win 36 games is a credit to (Sweetwater Coach) Gene Alim, his staff and players,” Arnaiz said. “But there are unfortunate things. You press even if you refuse to recognize the streak.”

Now that Helix shot down that streak, the question is: Can the Highlanders keep their emotions high for another week?

“We’ve had the resiliency to bounce back all season,” Arnaiz said. “We have a longer week this week because the game’s on Saturday. So, we’ll be able to cherish this win on Monday.”

A good grip: Crawford High didn’t score until the game’s final offensive series Saturday night, but that was enough to beat San Marcos, 7-6, in a semifinal game.

The Colts drove 65 yards in 4:30 on the muddy Patrick Henry High turf for the winning touchdown.

Crawford quarterback Tommy Fejarang, on the sudden success in the final minutes: “On the time outs, we were able to get the ball dry enough so I could get a good grip on it.”

Crawford used three timeouts on the final drive. The final timeout was used before a fourth down-and-four situation at the San Marcos 5-yard line. The next play resulted in a game-winning touchdown pass from Fejarang to Dwight Brown.

Runners go north: Grossmont High’s Darcy Arreola and Valhalla’s Mark Dani will lead a strong contingent of runners who will compete in the Kinney Western Regional Cross-Country Championships Saturday in Fresno.

The top eight boys and girls finishers runners will qualify for the Kinney Nationals Dec. 14 at Morley Field in Balboa Park. Only one San Diegan, Vista’s Sandy Blakeslee in 1982, has ever qualified for the nationals.

Last season, Arreola finished 10th in the regionals and is a favorite to qualify this season. Arreola had the county’s top mark in winning the Section 3-A Conference CIF title this season--14:39 over 2.6 miles.

Others joining Arreola in Fresno are 2-A champion Laura Chapel of University City, Nicole Nugent of Torrey Pines, Lisa Lechner of Valhalla and Kari Jorgenson and Robin Eager of Vista.

Dani, who outdueled Marc Davis of San Diego High in winning the boys’ 2-A title, will race Davis again in Fresno. Monte Vista’s Rob Lopes, the 3-A champion, and San Dieguito’s Clark Sandknop will also attempt to qualify.