Sophomore quarterback Brandon Lewis has been impressing La Mesa Helix coach Troy Starr in practice for the last half of the football season.
Yet, Lewis’ actual playing time was only a brief mop-up stint in the regular-season finale against Granite Hills. Playing the first half of the year for the Helix junior varsity, Lewis had thrown only three varsity passes, completing one for 6 yards.
That is, until the first round of the CIF-San Diego Section playoffs. Lewis came off the bench to rescue the Highlanders after starter Jake Reed went down with an apparent broken foot, leading them to a come-from-behind 18-17 victory over visiting Westview.
The third Helix quarterback to enter the game, Lewis threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Austin Gonzalez on a fourth-down play with 31 seconds remaining. That pulled the Highlanders to within one point. A PAT kick likely would have sent the game into overtime, but Starr had a play he’d been waiting to unveil in this situation for two years.
"9-0-7 reverse pass," Starr said. "That’s my Urban Meyer special. (As coach of the Florida Gators) he beat Arkansas with that play a couple of years ago. And when he was at Bowling Green, he won one of the biggest games of his life with that play."
On the 2-point conversion attempt, Lewis took the shotgun snap and darted to his left. Around the left hash marks, he flipped the ball back to senior receiver Sean Linton for a reverse run or pass option. Linton curled to his right and soon realized he wasn’t going to find paydirt with a rushing attempt. Instead, he looked up to find a wide-open Sam Merideth darting toward the back corner of the end zone. It was the first scoring catch of any kind for Merideth, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound junior tight end.
"We run that play every single day in practice," Merideth said. "We were ready for it. If (Linton) has an opening, he runs it in. This time, he didn’t have that option, so I’m just glad he was able to get the ball out to me."
Obviously, Lewis has enhanced his future in Starr’s eyes.
"Brandon has been lighting it up in practice, and he’s going to be a good one," the coach said.
So much so that incumbent Reed – a top-drawer dual-threat – and sophomore backup Jimmy Pruitt may have to move over for the upstart. Reed has been plagued with injuries this year. Pruitt is a strong runner, but hasn’t shown the ability to pass as well as Reed or Lewis.
"We’re good with Brandon this week (in a quarterfinal playoff game against Valhalla)," Starr said. "But we have an official quarterback controversy going into next year."
Mira Mesa’s Williams keeps Marauders on the run
After beginning the season 0-3, the Mira Mesa Marauders have come on to win seven of eight to advance to the Division I quarterfinals in the CIFSDS playoffs.
One of the main reasons for the Marauders’ turnaround is senior running back Damien Williams. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Williams, who was listed a WR/DB on the Marauders’ opening-day roster, has rushed for 2,285 yards and 24 touchdowns on 232 carries. That includes 275 yards and a pair of scores in Mira Mesa’s 48-29 playoff win over Carlsbad.
Fallbrook’s Warriors prove they belong
In college football, teams must win six games to become bowl eligible. Not so in the high school football playoffs. Two of the 60 teams in the CIFSDS won as few as two games in 10 starts. One of those was a 2-8 Fallbrook.
The Warriors, however, proved they are better than their record as they stunned Rancho Bernardo 7-6 in the first round of the CIFSDS playoffs.
Fallbrook intercepted three passes in the fourth quarter and shut out Rancho Bernardo (8-3) over the final 37 minutes. Cameron Remy scored the Warriors’ TD and Martin Barajas converted the extra point.
Cross country: A three-peat for Broncos’ Grabill
Junior Molly Grabill of Rancho Bernardo won her third straight CIF-San Diego Section Division I individual championship at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.
Grabill, ranked No. 4 in the nation, broke the 6-year-old course record, covering the 2.75-mile trail in a time of 15 minutes, 25 seconds. It was the fastest time since section officials expanded the course in 1998. Torrey Pines won its fifth straight girls team title.
More cross country: Poway boys take CIF-SDS title
Poway captured the team CIFSDS team crown at Balboa Park’s Morley Field for the first time since 1997, earning coach Dan Schaitel his 10th overall section championship. Poway placed five runners in the top 20 to edge Rancho Buena Vista by 23 points. La Costa Canyon's Darren Fahy, who is coming off a broken foot a year ago, won the boys individual title in a time of 16:04.
Other top performances
— Senior Theron Hudson of Horizon Christian blocked a potential game-tying PAT with 3:34 remaining to preserve the Panthers' 21-20 CIFSDS playoff win over Mountain Empire.
— Evan Crower connected with Dana Barbaro for five touchdown passes in St. Augustine’s 42-20 playoff victory over Mar Vista. Crower totaled 237 yards through the air, completing 13-of-16 passes
— Palo Verde Valley quarterback Robby Shupe threw for 372 yards and five touchdowns, hitting 16-of-24 passes. All five scoring strikes went to Anthony Teniente (9 for 281) in a playoff loss at La Jolla.
— Double-threat senior Cody Johnson rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries in El Centro Central’s 56-21 playoff romp over Clairemont. Johnson also led the Spartans with 15 tackles.
— Coronado quarterback Kodie Englehart rushed for 203 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries in a CIFSDS playoff win over Escondido Charter. Englehart also threw a TD pass.
— Running back Derall Hunter of Spring Valley Mount Miguel rushed for 146 and two TDs on 21 carries, and also turned a screen pass into a 71-yard TD play.
— Steele Canyon junior Brad Boehmke completed 9-of-13 passes for 228 yards and two TDs in a first round CIFSDS playoff win over San Marcos.
— El Capitan senior Mark Scharfenberg passed for 173 yards and three TDs, going 14-for-16 in the Vaqueros’ playoff victory over Brawley.
Ricky Seale, Escondido
File photo by Kirt Winter
Coming attractions
A couple of high-scoring football playoff games are in the offing in Friday’s (Nov. 27) CIF-SDS quarterfinals. In Division I, Damien Williams and the Mira Mesa Marauders (7-4) visit record-breaking running back Ricky Seale and the Escondido Cougars (7-2-1). In Division IV, Dillon Baxter and the Mission Bay Buccaneers (10-0) entertain Kodie Englehart and the Coronado Islanders (7-4). Both games begin at 7 p.m.
Dickens dealings
Not so long ago, it was routine for a coach’s tenure to carry on for 20, 30 years or longer. And it wasn’t always about the number of championships and victories a coach produced. It was about how he worked with kids, and parents gladly helped the team by tending the concession stand and piecing together game programs.
Nowadays, the demand placed on coaches is seemingly endless. It’s about winning and even more, so it’s about "getting my son/daughter a college scholarship."
What parents need to realize is it’s not a coach’s responsibility to land athletes scholarships. Sure, the coach can help. But some parents want a guarantee. As one long-time softball coach told a group of parents, "If you want to be sure your daughters get a college scholarship, tell them to get straight As."
Nonetheless, coaching careers today are much shorter – typically less than a decade. Plain and simple, the wear and tear takes its toll. Many parents have taken a turn at coaching, and bail out as soon as their children have used up their eligibility.
Granted, there are still longtimers who have remained in the ranks –guys like Bonita Vista football’s Carl Parrick, Valhalla football’s Steve Sutton and basketball’s John Singer (Helix boys), Frank Foggiano (Grossmont boys), Jay Trousdale (Poway girls), Nancy Ascerio (Hilltop softball) and Margaret Mauro (Cathedral Catholic softball). They’ve all been working the sidelines for more than two decades. Singer is beginning his 30th season this winter.
These coaches are in the minority, however. Accolades to John Maffucci. Here is a true ironman who is in his 54th year as athletic director at Carlsbad’s Army-Navy Academy.
