Last Saturday’s San Diego Section Open Division football championship game did not feature any South County teams but did spotlight a pair of players with South County connections.
Helix sophomore running back Elelyon Noa played youth football for the Eastlake Panthers as an eighth grader.
Mission Hills senior receiver Chris Olave played varsity football at Eastlake High School as a sophomore.
Both players had significant roles in last Saturday’s top-billed clash between top-seeded Mission Hills and second-seeded Helix.
Noa rushed for 164 yards on 29 carries and scored three touchdowns in the Highlanders’ 26-19 come-from-behind victory.
Olave had 12 catches for 150 yards and one touchdown.
The Grizzlies, defending their perfect 12-0 record, opened scoring on a 19-yard field goal by Ezekeal Mata. The scoring drive was set up by a 35-yard catch by Olave to the nine-yard line. However, the Helix defense held to force the chip-shot field goal.
The teams alternated touchdowns from there. Noa put the Scotties ahead, 6-3, on a three-yard run with 6:52 left in the second quarter. The Grizzlies took a 10-6 lead when Sam Dixon slashed off left guard for two yards with 3:30 left in the quarter.
A key fourth-down catch by Olave kept Mission Hills’ go-ahead drive alive.
Helix (10-3) scored with 30.5 seconds left in the first half on a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Carson Baker to Isaiah Wooden. However, the Highlanders missed the extra-point kick to lead by two points, 12-10, at the half.
The Grizzlies (12-1) went back in front, 16-12, when Olave caught a seven-yard scoring pass from Jack Tuttle with 9:20 left in the third quarter. The extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving the regular season Avocado League champions hanging onto a four-point lead.
Noa promptly put Helix ahead, 19-16, on a one-yard run with 2:39 left in the third quarter.
The game was tied, 19-19, when Mata kicked a 26-yard field goal with eight seconds elapsed in the fourth quarter.
Noa scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on a four-yard run off left guard with 9:17 to play in the game.
The Grizzlies appeared to be driving for a possible game-tying touchdown but turned the ball over on downs deep in Highlander territory with 4:42 remaining in the game.
Helix, however, managed to successfully run out the clock when Noa gained a key first down on second effort with 1:42 to play.
The CIF championship was gratifying to Noa, who played for Helix as a freshman in last year’s 35-27 title game loss to Cathedral Catholic.
“It’s a relief — it’s a blessing,” Noa said after the game. “I owe it to my offensive line; it was all on them. We had some adversity in this game. We had to come out on top no matter who we played.”
“The Noa family (Elelyon and older brother Zeke Noa, a 2017 graduate) has been the heart and soul of this team in everything we do,” Helix head coach Robbie Owens said. “At the end of the game there was no way that Elelyon wasn’t going to get that first down.
“During the last few weeks in the playoffs, I’ve had a lot of fun coaching these guys. I don’t want to stop.”
Owens and the Highlanders have at least one more game: this Friday’s Southern California regional at Oaks Christian (12-2).
