The Claymore Sword—traditional prize of the annual Helix-Mount Miguel football game—stayed with the host Scotties on Friday night as the county No. 1-ranked Highlanders beat the previously unbeaten Matadors, a top 10 team, 49-7.
Helix quarterback Brandon Lewis tossed five touchdown passes, including four in the first half, as the Scotties rolled to a 35-0 lead at intermission. Kendal Keys was on the receiving end of two of the scoring passes, from 6 and 28 yards out. Jimmy Pruitt (37 yards), Gary Thompson (35) and Cameron Lee (21) also had TD catches.
Lewis hit on 17 of 22 passes for 256 yards, and now has 14 touchdown passes on the season. Darrion Hancock carried 14 times for 141 yards, scoring once on a dive from the 1. Michael Adkins had the other Highlander rushing TD from 11 yards out.
Helix racked up more than 350 yards by halftime, and any chance Mount Miguel had of a comeback faded when Matador quarterback Ernest Williams left with an injured shoulder after landing awkwardly out of bounds late in the second quarter.
Shannon Nickson scored the lone Mount Miguel touchdown with a 45-yard run in the final quarter, which was played with a running clock after Helix entered the period with a 49-0 advantage.
“This is a big win for us, but we’re all about winning our last game,” said Helix coach Troy Starr, who hopes that last game will be for a state title in December. “I thought we had better personnel coming in, and when you have that, you just have to go out and take care of business. But we still have plenty of things we need to improve on.”
Helix has won the Claymore Sword every year since 1988 with the exception of 2009.
“We prepared well and came out tough,” said Lewis. “When you follow the game plan, good things happen.”
Both teams now stand at 4-1. Next week, the Scotties open Grossmont league play by hosting West Hills High School for homecoming. The Matadors travel within Spring Valley to face rival Monte Vista High.
