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Times’ Honors Arnaiz, Lawrence And Aliipule

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

“Best of the best”--the unofficial theme of The Times’ annual high school football awards breakfast Sunday--was a fitting description for the San Diego County Edition’s back, lineman and coach of the year.

Morse High clearly was the county’s best team this year, and its leader, Teddy Lawrence, was named the back of the year.

Rancho Buena Vista High has had the best running game in the county over the past three years, and a big reason was Don Aliipule, the lineman of the year.

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Helix High has had the best overall program in the county over the past 14 years under Jim Arnaiz, the coach of the year.

Lawrence, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound, option quarterback, led Morse to a 14-0 record and the section 3-A championship for the second time in three years. Sure, Morse was a loaded team and will go down as one of the best in section history, but it was Lawrence who made it all work.

He ran for more than 1,400 yards, passed for more than 1,000 more and was the Tigers’ punter and kick returner.

After one game this season, Lawrence made the statement: “Once I get past the line of scrimmage, I expect to go all the way.”

He wasn’t bragging. He was merely telling it like it is. Lawrence scored 22 rushing touchdowns and set a section record for rushing average, gaining 13.79 yards per carry.

“It’s been fun,” Lawrence said. “Breaking a lot of records and getting all the write-ups and awards has added to the fun.”

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Aliipule (5-11, 245) is not particularly big by today’s standards for offensive linemen, but he helped Rancho Buena Vista set the standard by which running teams around the county will be measured for years.

A two-time, first-team all-county selection, Aliipule used his quickness and what size he does have to help clear the way for three 2,000-yard rushers the past two seasons. There have been only six 2,000-yard rushers in the section’s history.

“(Aliipule) made it awfully easy to run an offense without having to throw the ball,” Longhorn Coach Craig Bell said. “Next year (without Aliipule), I’m going to have go back to coaching.”

Arnaiz has been coaching at Helix since 1969. He took over as the head coach in 1973 and has guided the Highlanders to five section championship games, including victories in 1978, ’80 and ’82. After an 8-1 season in 1990, Arnaiz anticipated a return to the championship game, but was upended in the 3-A quarterfinals, 15-14, by Orange Glen.

Orange Glen’s point total was more than half what Helix had permitted in its previous 10 games, which included seven shutouts. The Highlanders were No. 1 in defense, allowing only 23 points in the regular season, and No. 3 in offense.

That kind of combination has almost become expected of Helix since Arnaiz took over, but the reason has not gone unnoticed.

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Arnaiz also won The Times’ coach of the year award 10 years ago. If he sticks around, pencil him in for the year 2000 as well.

“My defensive coordinator Rick Ash and his staff deserve a lot of the credit,” Arnaiz said. “They’ve made things real easy for me.”

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