Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Mira Mesa upends Helix in last minute

Highlanders commit five turnovers in loss

In a game between early-season unbeatens Friday night, Mira Mesa forced Helix into uncharacteristic mistakes. The result was a 19-17 home win for the Marauders, a win that establishes Mira Mesa as one of the best teams in the county.

“It feels real good. They’ve been talking about how Helix was going to come in here and beat us. We came in here not holding our heads down and playing defense like we are supposed to play defense and everything worked out all right,” said Mira Mesa senior defensive back Jerik Davis.

Davis sealed the game with an interception with 38 seconds to play. The picked off pass was intended for Helix’s six-foot-eight-inch tight end Levine Toilolo, but it was the five-foot-eight-inch Davis that made the play.

“I was playing in between two receivers and I saw the tallest receiver threw his hand up so I knew it was going to him because he was taller than me. I play bigger than I am,” Davis said.

Mira Mesa had trailed the entire second half until running back Damian Williams scored from two yards out with 59 seconds to play. Williams’ rushing touchdown capped a Marauders drive that spanned 8:15 of the final quarter.

“The whole time I was just running the ball down the field and when it came down to it I just had to push it in,” Williams said. Williams turned in a great effort on the ground. He also returned a second-quarter kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.

For the Highlanders, Toilolo seemingly did it all. The Stanford-bound senior played both ways and blocked a punt in the third quarter. Senior Jo-Jo Phillips also played a great game, making plays on both sides of the ball and running for a touchdown in the second quarter. Great efforts by Toilolo and Phillips, however, could not make up for Helix’s numerous mistakes.

“I thought we played horrible. I was very disappointed. We turned the ball over five times, gave up a special teams touchdown – we deserved to lose. Our kids played really hard though as bad as we played,” Helix head coach Troy Starr said.

Mira Mesa capitalized on Helix’s mistakes and did just enough to pull out their second-straight two-point victory.

“I think it’s just the beginning. We knew it was going to be a hard game and we just came through,” Williams said.

The road does not get any easier for Mira Mesa (2-0), who travels to Oceanside (2-0) on Friday. Helix (1-1) will look to rebound Friday against North County power Carlsbad (1-1) in a game to be played at El Camino High School.

For more San Diego high school football visit the High School Red Zone at www.sdreader.com/football.

Mira Mesa running back Damian Williams lines up in the I-Formation in the red zone

Helix senior Levine Toilolo also played defensive line and blocked a punt against Mira Mesa

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Deciduous trees sprouting new life, Bracken ferns pushing up their "fiddleheads"

Annual Lyriad shower might be washed out by full moon
Next Article

Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken, y'all

Fried chicken, biscuits, and things made from biscuit dough

Highlanders commit five turnovers in loss

In a game between early-season unbeatens Friday night, Mira Mesa forced Helix into uncharacteristic mistakes. The result was a 19-17 home win for the Marauders, a win that establishes Mira Mesa as one of the best teams in the county.

“It feels real good. They’ve been talking about how Helix was going to come in here and beat us. We came in here not holding our heads down and playing defense like we are supposed to play defense and everything worked out all right,” said Mira Mesa senior defensive back Jerik Davis.

Davis sealed the game with an interception with 38 seconds to play. The picked off pass was intended for Helix’s six-foot-eight-inch tight end Levine Toilolo, but it was the five-foot-eight-inch Davis that made the play.

“I was playing in between two receivers and I saw the tallest receiver threw his hand up so I knew it was going to him because he was taller than me. I play bigger than I am,” Davis said.

Mira Mesa had trailed the entire second half until running back Damian Williams scored from two yards out with 59 seconds to play. Williams’ rushing touchdown capped a Marauders drive that spanned 8:15 of the final quarter.

“The whole time I was just running the ball down the field and when it came down to it I just had to push it in,” Williams said. Williams turned in a great effort on the ground. He also returned a second-quarter kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.

For the Highlanders, Toilolo seemingly did it all. The Stanford-bound senior played both ways and blocked a punt in the third quarter. Senior Jo-Jo Phillips also played a great game, making plays on both sides of the ball and running for a touchdown in the second quarter. Great efforts by Toilolo and Phillips, however, could not make up for Helix’s numerous mistakes.

“I thought we played horrible. I was very disappointed. We turned the ball over five times, gave up a special teams touchdown – we deserved to lose. Our kids played really hard though as bad as we played,” Helix head coach Troy Starr said.

Mira Mesa capitalized on Helix’s mistakes and did just enough to pull out their second-straight two-point victory.

“I think it’s just the beginning. We knew it was going to be a hard game and we just came through,” Williams said.

The road does not get any easier for Mira Mesa (2-0), who travels to Oceanside (2-0) on Friday. Helix (1-1) will look to rebound Friday against North County power Carlsbad (1-1) in a game to be played at El Camino High School.

For more San Diego high school football visit the High School Red Zone at www.sdreader.com/football.

Mira Mesa running back Damian Williams lines up in the I-Formation in the red zone

Helix senior Levine Toilolo also played defensive line and blocked a punt against Mira Mesa

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.