LA MESA — El Camino High School had high expectations heading into the season opener.
Causing the No. 8-ranked team to commit four turnovers on its first six drives probably wasn’t one of them.
But that’s exactly what happened as the Wildcats’ defense and special teams stole the spotlight, resulting in a dominating 49-20 win over host Helix.
“We focus heavily on takeaways,” El Camino coach Michael Hobbs said. “Our keys to victory were three turnovers, and we get five. We said, ‘If we get three, our offense is going to have an opportunity. If we get more, we’re going to win this game.’”
It was a very un-Helix like first half. The Highlanders turned the ball over four times, three of which resulted in El Camino (1-0) scores.
After the Highlanders (0-1) scored on their first drive on a Lee Norman-Lester 10-yard touchdown run, their next five drives ended in a punt, a turnover on downs, an interception, another turnover on downs and then the end of the first half.
Add in a muffed punt return deep in their own territory before that ugly streak, and the hosts were their own worst enemy.
“We have 22 new starters,” Helix coach Damaja Jones said. “We’re playing five freshmen and a lot of sophomores. It’s not an excuse for some of the things we did, but inexperience is part of the process. This is going to be a growing time and we’ll take it game by game.”
The Wildcats accepted the gifts they helped cause with a swarming defense. They were opportunistic on special teams, too.
Junior Anthony Sega recovered a muffed punt return at the 17-yard line. Three plays later, Leo Bell ran it in from 10 yards out to even the score. The workhorse Bell carried 21 times for 93 yards and three touchdowns.
“I have everything set up around me,” Bell said. “A great offensive line. We feed off those turnovers as an offense. We knew we weren’t going to worry about anything but ourselves.”
Senior cornerback Qayden Coleman intercepted Norman-Lester and returned it 70 yards to the 8-yard line to set up Bell’s 3-yard touchdown. It was one of three Wildcats interceptions and five Highlanders turnovers on the night.
“We got a lot of ballers who can make turnovers and make big plays,” Coleman said. “Turnovers are a game changer. That gives us a chance to score off turnovers. That’s our goal. We’re always going after the ball.”
Zack Ballow made a stop on Helix’s fourth-down attempt on the next drive to give the Wildcats a short field.
Vinny Simon (10-for-14 for 187 yards) connected with Jathon Bejarano four plays later for a 17-yard touchdown as he had two scores on the night.
Norman-Lester finished 10-for-26 for 113 yards and a TD through the air and added nine carries for 115 yards with his legs.
When Helix did score, El Camino had an immediate answer.
After Norman-Lester connected with Harlem Harris for a 4-yard score, the Wildcats struck right back with a back-breaking 48-yard touchdown toss from Simon once again to Bejarano for a 35-13 lead.
El Camino 49, Helix 20
El Camino 7 14 14 14 — 49
Helix 7 0 13 0 — 20
H — Norman-Lester 10 run (Laue kick)
EC — Bell 10 run (Ballow kick)
EC — Bell 1 run (Ballow kick)
EC — Bejarano 17 from Simon (Ballow kick)
EC — Bell 14 run (Ballow kick)
H — Harris 4 from Norman-Lester (kick failed)
EC — Bejarano 48 from Simon (Rodriguez kick)
H — Norman-Lester 13 run (Laue kick)
EC — Bell 7 run (Rodriguez kick)
EC — Sega 2 run (Rodriguez kick)
