Tour stop #10 on the 7th Annual "Mega 50-Tour Stop" MaxPreps Football Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard brought us to sunny San Diego, California; home of Helix Charter High School and current NFL Stars Reggie Bush and Alex Smith. After losing its season opener to Eastlake HS in Chula Vista, Helix HS, under the leadership of Head Coach Troy Starr captured its first CIF Division 2 title and finished No. 27 in the nation according to the MaxPreps Freeman computer poll.
On Wednesday, January 11th, I arrived on campus at 7:30am, ready to set-up and coordinate the prestigious Tour of Champions "Minuteman" presentation. This was a special day for Helix HS and the event was celebrated with 600 Senior Classmen and their beloved football team. Logan Call of MaxPreps was onsite to assist in the presentation along with his camera team. Also in attendance were two local television stations including KUSI, who had a live six-minute feed to its local viewers, local assemblymen, city council, and other city officials.
As we arrived at the Gym, we were greeted by ASB coordinator Coach Cat and her Leadership Team. They decorated the gym with their school colors of green and black. It was bound to be an amazing stop for MaxPreps and the California Army National Guard, as there was much energy in the air. Once the MaxPreps/Army National Guard banner backdrops were in place, the gym was ready for a most awesome event. Just before the ceremony started the audience erupted as Television Station KUSI panned the crowd and asked for audience participation. It was incredible. 600 raging seniors from the Senior Class roared at the top of their lungs. The school band, ukulele group, bagpipe ensemble, pep squad, and cheerleaders all performed for the audience from 8:30-9:00am. It was a full team effort!
At 9:00am sharp, Athletic Director Damon Chase officially welcomed the students, faculty, coaches, families, and local community members to the event. It was then turned over to MaxPreps Logan Call to recognize Helix High School's football team for its 13-1 finish and its many achievements. The crowd went wild. Recognizing Helix's No. 27 national ranking, Call then introduced Staff Sergeant Joaquin Cuenca of the California Army National Guard to present the Army National Guard national ranking trophy to Coach Troy Starr and the Helix football team. Then, the whole team went up on stage and was recognized in front of a crowd of 800. Coach Starr was extremely proud of his players for their great effort and perseverance down the stretch of a long season. He then asked QB, Senior Brandon Lewis to say a few words. Next, Coach Starr gave his acceptance speech and turned it back over to Logan Call to wrap up the trophy presentation.
For 45 minutes straight, there was not a dull moment at the celebration. Helix High School and its administration worked very hard to coordinate this special presentation and they should be applauded. After wrapping up all the interviews with Coach Starr, Brandon Lewis, and other athletes, it was time to break-down the stage and backdrop to prepare for the next day's stop at Santa Margarita Catholic High School's Tour of Champions presentation.
