3-A Football : Sheehan All Over as Helix Reverses Earlier Loss, 21-11

A different Helix team took the field against San Dieguito in the first round of the San Diego Section 3-A football playoffs at Helix High School Friday night.

What was different was Todd Sheehan.

Sheehan missed a 12-6 Helix loss to San Dieguito the third week of the season with an injured ankle. Sheehan made his presence felt on both offense and defense Friday night as he led Helix to a 21-11 victory.

Helix (8-2-1) travels to play Mt. Carmel next Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Sheehan caught 7 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown, intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned a punt 85 yards to the San Dieguito 7. He also returned a kickoff 92 yards for an apparent touchdown, but holding nullified the score.

“I think it shows you what kind of a player Todd Sheehan is,” said Jim Arnaiz, Helix coach. “You can put him anywhere on the field.”

San Dieguito scored on its first possession when Gene McCarthy kicked a 25-yard field goal.

Led by the passing of quarterback Tim Zeddies, Helix took its first drive 75 yards with running back Spike Mitchell scoring on a 1-yard run. Vesa Peltola’s extra point gave Helix a 7-3 lead, and the Highlanders never trailed.

Helix took a 14-3 lead at the half, scoring in the second quarter on a 2-play, 26-yard drive after San Dieguito had to punt from its own end zone. Zeddies threw 25 yards to wide receiver Eddie Evilsizor and then ran the ball in from the 1 for the score. Peltola kicked the extra point.

Zeddies was 10 of 12 for 111 yards in the first half as Helix controlled the game.

“I think our offense is starting to come along,” Zeddies said. “We have confidence in ourselves. Plus Todd is half our offense.”

Erik Franssens’ 65-yard punt return gave San Dieguito a touchdown early and Brett Ward’s pass to Sean Reintjes for the conversion narrowed Helix’s lead to 14-11.

Helix regrouped and scored on its next possession midway through the third quarter.

Zeddies hit Sheehan down the left sideline for a 50-yard touchdown. Sheehan ran down the sideline, cutting to his right past the last San Dieguito defender for the final score.

“I just wanted us to go out there and win,” Sheehan said. “I didn’t want this to be my last game.”

Morse 45, Granite Hills 7--Larry Maxey scored four touchdowns and had a fifth called back for Morse at Southwestern College.

Maxey, the county’s second-leading rusher, had 126 first-half yards as Morse (8-3) took a 32-0 halftime lead. Maxey, who had 143 yards on 26 carries, scored on runs of 28, 2, 21 and 17 yards.

On the first play of the game, Maxey ran 60 yards to the Granite Hills 28. On the next play he scored.

Before the quarter was over, Maxey had scored again and Paul Curtis made a 33-yard field goal, one of three he’d make. Morse defensive lineman Tyrone Morrison recovered a Granite Hills fumble in the end zone for another touchdown.

Morse had 426 yards offense in the game and held Granite Hills (5-6) to 262, 76 in the first half.

Morse will play fourth-seeded Sweetwater (8-2) in the 3-A quarterfinals next week.

Orange Glen 27, Chula Vista 26--Sean Gousha ran 10 yards for a score on a quarterback draw and Shannon Vinje added the extra point to give visiting Orange Glen (7-3-1) the victory in a tie-breaker.

Chula Vista trailed 20-14 with 2:45 left in the fourth quarter when quarterback Paul Geering hit wide receiver Steve Trainor on a nine-yard scoring pass to tie the game. The game remained tied, 20-20, when Chula Vista missed the extra point because of a low snap.

In the tie-breaker, both teams got the ball on their opponent’s 10-yard line for a series of four plays. Chula Vista got the ball first and scored when Geering passed 10 yards to Shawn Miranda for a score. The Spartans went for two points, but kicker Eric Slinkard was tackled before he could pass on an option play.

Gousha scored on Orange Glen’s first play, taking the snap and running up the middle on a quarterback draw. Vinje’s extra point moved the Patriots into next week’s quarterfinals against second-seeded Point Loma.

Orange Glen opened the scoring in the first quarter on an 11-yard scoring pass from Gousha to Jason Sowers. Chula Vista tied it, 7-7, on Marquis Howard’s one-yard run in the first quarter.

Vinje gave Orange Glen a 10-7 lead on a 20-yard field goal, but Chula Vista regained the lead on a 61-yard touchdown pass from Geering to Miranda. Orange Glen took a 17-14 halftime lead on a nine-yard scoring run by Dennis Esposito.

Vinje made it 20-14 on a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Then Chula Vista forced the tie-breaker when Geering passed to Trainor in the final few minutes.

Chula Vista finished 6-2-3.

Fallbrook 33, Patrick Henry 17--Mike Turiace threw four touchdown passes as defending San Diego Section champion Fallbrook (8-3) took its first step toward repeating at Fallbrook. Patrick Henry ended its season 4-6.