SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Football

2005 San Diego Section Report

Mustangs gallop to 'win of the century'

Otay Ranch tops East County giant Helix, 45-21, to stay unbeaten

By Phillip Brents

Posted Sept. 30, 2005

The statement has been made: Otay Ranch 45, Helix 21.

Need more be said?

"This is the game we wanted to prove to the rest of the county to get some respect," said Mustang running back Robert McCurdy, who scored twice In what can only be summed up as the program's "win of the century."

The Highlanders might be 1-4 but the program’s storied past speaks volumes for what the fledgling Mustangs accomplished on this night in extending their season-opening record to 5-0.

Helix -- simply put -- has structured a program over the years by which other programs measure themselves. The Highlanders, who produced NFL No. 1 draft pick Alex Smith, now with the San Francisco 49ers, and Reggie Bush, now with two Division I NCAA national championships at USC -- have advanced to the last five San Diego Section Division II championship games. Helix owns five CIF titles and three runner-up finishes and have been a mainstay in the section playoffs for the past two decades.

Friday's game was just the 15th in varsity competition for the Mustangs.

The Highlanders, in short, have helped set the standard of excellence in the San Diego Section. Their shadow from nearby East County has been a giant one. For a South County program as young as that of Otay Ranch's to emerge from that shadow, well ... there just aren't enough superlatives to go around to adequately describe that sense of accomplishment.

The Mustangs' win was HUGE. It has to rank as the biggest in school history.

"Our kids believe in what they do and execute," Otay Ranch head coach Gene Alim said after the history-making win. "I'd like to believe that good coaching has something to do with our success but these kids make it look easy. These kids have a great work ethic."

Uh-um. In those 15 varsity contests, it should be noted that the Mustangs are now 13-2. The Otay Ranch program is quickly setting standards of its own.

"It's all about respect!" Mustang players shouted in the dying minutes of Friday's game against the visiting Highlanders as the scoreboard displayed Otay Ranch's ultimate victory in glowing red letters.

"It's all about respect!" The chant continued down the sideline.

The Mustangs -- playing without a senior class -- finished 8-2 last year and were denied a playoff berth because section coaches doubted how good they were. Instead, Otay Ranch watched as the section's playoff selection committee admitted two teams with 1-9 records.

Consider the message finally delivered.

DeRaun Deadwiler, Jared Jordan and McCurdy all helped deliver it in thrill-seeking fashion. Deadwiler finished the game with 120 rushing yards -- 97 of which came in the pivotal second half when it appeared that Helix had all but stolen the game's momentum. He also scored three times.

Deadwiler opened scoring in the game when he caught a 16-yard pass from Jeff Smith. The Highlanders promptly displayed their speed when Justin Johnson scored on a breakaway run to help tie the score at 7-7. McCurdy then answered that with an equally explosive 52-yard scoring run to give the hosts the lead they would not relinquish. McCurdy later ripped off a 48-yard run to position the football at the Highlanders' two-yard line. After a loss of one yard, Jordan scored to put the Mustangs up 21-7 with 5:39 left in the second quarter. A Kenny Ehm interception inside 2:00 in the half gave Otay Ranch another chance to add to its lead. Smith then evaded pressure to hit Derrick Murray on a 32-yard pass play to the Helix 16-yard line. Smith then connected with Larry Daniels to bring the ball to the Highlanders' four-yard line with 1.1 seconds left on the score clock. Austin Guerrero booted a 21-yard field goal as time expired to give the Mustangs a 24-7 halftime lead.

Photo: Jared Jordan, left, and DeRaun Deadwiler combined to score four touchdowns.

For a time in the second half, it appeared as if they might squander it.

Otay Ranch had a chance to enhance its lead but a 44-yard field goal attempt by Brian Lewis sailed just wide right. Helix then got down to business by showcasing its speed and size. The Highlanders scored two quick touchdowns to pull to within 24-21 on the scoreboard and, for all practical purposes, appeared ready to go ahead at any juncture.

Lengthy gains by Cole Kindred and Derrick Perrault set up Helix's Kenslow Smith for a 31-yard scoring run to trim the Mustangs lead to 24-14. The Highlanders then recovered a fumble near midfield and two plays later were inside the Otay Ranch 20-yard line. Perrault found himself in the end zone moments later and, with 3:27 left in the third quarter, the Mustangs' once imposing lead was suddenly cut to just three points.

It appeared to get worse from there for the hosts.

The ensuing kickoff bounced past the intended Otay Ranch returner, leaving the Mustangs with horrible field position at their own three-yard line. Deadwiler, however, broke through the line to move the ball out to the 28 but the Helix defense stiffened and, combined with a motion penalty and two hits for losses (including a quarterback sack), Otay Ranch was forced to punt from the shadow of its own end zone.

One play then occurred that completely turned around the momentum in the game: Helix fumbled the punt return. The Mustangs recovered the ball at the Highlanders' 37-yard line and took advantage of the turnover. Smith promptly passed to Daniels, placing the ball at the Helix 21. Subsequent runs by Deadwiler, Smith and Jordan moved the ball to the Highlanders' three-yard line. Deadwiler then reversed field to score, giving the Mustangs a 10-point lead at 31-21.

The momentum stayed with Otay Ranch for the remainder of the game.

Photo: Kenny Ehm makes a leaping interception for Otay Ranch.

Helix proceeded to drive into Mustangs territory once more -- one had the feeling that even the 10-point lead midway through the final period might still not be enough for the hosts -- but the Highlanders' march ended on downs at the Otay Ranch 29. The Mustangs took over possession with 5:51 left, needing to eat up as much time on the clock as possible to preserve their lead. Helix's defense -- playing with it collective back against the wall -- appeared to deliver a glimmer of hope for the visitors when it had Deadwiler corralled in the backfield for an eight-yard loss. Or, rather, appeared to have him corralled for the loss. Somehow, picking his way through the mass of humanity launched at him, he managed to sidestep several tacklers and suddenly bolted out from the pileup along the sideline. There was no one to catch him and he took off for the end zone. The scoring play officially went down as 65 yards.

38-21 Otay Ranch.

Play of the week material.

A transfer from Castle Park, Deadwiler has has a big impact on the Mustangs' offense thus far with eight touchdowns. However, he remained humble about his heroics. "My linemen and the backs who block for me -- I give all the credit to them," Deadwiler said.

Placed into a desperate situation, the Highlanders were now forced to go on all four downs. Otay Ranch's unheralded defense rose to the occasion once again, giving the Mustangs' offense the ball at the Helix 10. McCurdy bolted in on the first play from scrimmage for his seventh touchdown of the season to hike the host's lead to 45-21 and place an exclamation mark on the program-making victory.

The helmets rose in unison at the final gun.

The scoreboard said it all: respect.

And not just for Otay Ranch but for the Metro Conference as well. Eastlake also defeated Helix this season, winning 24-14 on the Highlanders' home turf, to further show the emergence of South Bay squads from that very large shadow cast by Grossmont Conference teams.

In other games on Sept. 30:

San Ysidro 35, Southwest 7

At 3-1, the Cougars are breaking new ground for the program. The three wins are more than the two the team scored last season in its varsity debut. A couple more trips to the victory circle could catapult San Ysidro into this year’s San Diego Section playoffs. But if there is one thing the Cougars don’t want to do right now, it is to get ahead of themselves.

Sam Robinson threw two touchdown passes in the Cougars’ latest win, their third consecutive — including one for 65 yards to Phillip Hoy — while also rushing for a five-yard touchdown. Manny Padilla, who rushed for 104 yards in the game, also scored for San Ysidro, which broke away with a 21-0 second-half scoring explosion. The Cougars have outscored their last three opponents 126-40 after opening the season with a 52-13 loss to visiting Valhalla, which is currently 4-0.

Castle Park 35, Chula Vista 8

The Trojans (3-1) showcased both their offense and defense in the contest pitting cross-town rivals. Joaquin Guerra was credited with seven sacks in the game. Castle Park held the Spartans (0-4) to just 60 yards in total offense. Castle Park’s offense ignited in the second quarter with 21 points. Russell McGuire hit Martin Bayless Jr. on a 31-yard pass play, followed by a 10-yard run by Anthony Saunders and a two-yard run by David McGuire. The Trojans put the game away with 14 more points in the third quarter as Boogie Blossom scored from two yards out and David McGuire racked up his second score of the game on a six-yard run.

The Spartans’ touchdown came in the final quarter with Castle Park already up 35-0. Josh Goldilla passed 32 yards to Anthony Lattin for the Spartans’ lone score. Lattin has 24 catches for 349 yards so far this season.

In four games, the Trojans have allowed 42 points — an average of 10.5 points per game. On the other side of the ball, Castle Park has lit up the scoreboard with 118 points — an average of 29.5 points per game. Prior to the victory at Chula Vista, the Trojans defeated West Hills 42-14 and Morse 35-0.

Chula Vista has been outscored 147-45 in its four losses. But in their defense, the Spartans have played some very good teams thus far. Valhalla, which downed Chula Vista 48-23 in its season-opener, is 4-0. The Spartans then lost 39-7 to Carlsbad, ranked eighth in the section. Chula Vista also dropped a 26-7 decision to a resurgent Granite Hills team that is currently 2-2 after finishing 1-9 last season. Castle Park entered the season ranked 10th in the section.

Vista 24, Bonita Vista 9

After starting the season 3-0, the Barons (3-1) tasted defeat for the first time last Friday after falling 24-9 to eighth-ranked Vista in a marquee game at Southwestern College. The orth County. The Barons used a 22-yard scoring pass from Max Tatar to Pierce Hunter and a 24-yard field goal by Bryan Shields to take a 9-7 lead on Vista in the third quarter. However, the Panthers closed out the game with 17 unanswered points.

Steele Canyon 14, Hilltop 7

Hilltop running back Tyler Trenga was stopped on a fourth-down-and-short play in the late stages of last week’s 14-7 loss to Steele Canyon as the Lancers were driving to tie the game or possibly win it with a successful two-point conversion. However, the Cougars’ James Vidano made a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, which stood at the Steele Canyon nine-yard line.

Hilltop led 7-3 at halftime on a three-yard touchdown run by Kevin Diaz and nursed a 7-6 lead late in the game before Steele Canyon quarterback Ross Epperson scored from six yards out in the fourth quarter. Epperson then threw a successful two-point touchdown conversion to Eric Carrillo to erase Hilltop’s lead.

The loss was the third consecutive for the Lancers after kicking off the season with a 21-16 win against visiting Hoover. Other losses in the team’s current losing skid include 45-3 to Escondido and 21-7 to Bonita Vista.

RBV 42, Marian Catholic 14

The Crusaders (0-4) dropped their fourth consecutive game to start this season. Marian Catholic trailed 21-0 before getting on the scoreboard.