San Diego U-T Preps

With two weeks to prepare for Cathedral Catholic, Helix coach Robbie Owens challenged his offensive line.

“I told them look at themselves,” Owens said after his third-ranked Scotties shocked No. 9 Cathedral Catholic 39-0, the final 4:41 being played with a running clock. “I said we were going to emphasize the run so they needed to control the line of scrimmage.”

Helix did exactly that.

Led by sophomore Elelyon Noa, who gained 174 yards on 19 carries, the Highlanders (2-1) piled up 317 yards rushing.

All that did was open up the passing game, and senior quarterback Carson Baker took full advantage, completing 17 of 21 for 223 yards and four touchdowns.

“With the week off we were able to see why we lost,” said Baker, who also ran for a 6-yard TD to open the scoring. He is headed to UC Davis next fall.

“Give the offensive line credit,” he said, “they zoned in on their assignments. This is the Helix team everyone expected and we’re only going to get better.”

It would be difficult to get much sharper as Helix scored on its final five possessions with Baker in complete control.

“Carson is a gunslinger,” said Owens, smiling. “You saw how the pass complements the run.”

Helix, ranked No. 24 in the state according to MaxPreps, was impressive on both sides of the ball, holding a very young Cathedral Catholic (1-3) team to a total of 106 yards — 67 on the ground and just 39 in the air as Dons QB Kai Brown could complete just 4 of 11 under constant pressure.

Brand is a freelance writer.

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