High school football: St. Francis throws first punch, but Helix-La Mesa responds and rolls to win

St. Francis scored on their opening series, but the San Diego-area powerhouse Helix-La Mesa responded with 25 unanswered first half points to cruise to a 45-21 win

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA —St. Francis couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2023 season.

But it didn’t take long for Helix-La Mesa to completely destroy that script.

After the Lancers threw the first punch of the game with a quick touchdown, the San Diego-area powerhouse responded with 25 unanswered points in the first half to roll to a 45-21 win in Mountain View on Friday night.

St. Francis had a dream start to their season opener, forcing a three-and-out on defense and seeing star junior running back Kingston Keanaaina go 42 yards and ram into the endzone on just five carries.

“First game, we don’t know if we’re any good, we don’t know anything,” said St. Francis coach Greg Calcagno. “That was fantastic; it was exactly how you wanted it… And the rest of the half did not go as planned.”

Helix (2-0) coach Damaja Jones thought St. Francis’ quick bully-ball touchdown was a wake-up call for his team, which had flown up to the Bay Area on Friday morning for the evening game.

“It’s really difficult to replicate that level of physicality in practice,” Jones said. “You want to protect your team while also matching their physicality, and you can’t do it.” We knew what they were going to do, and all we had to do was adjust, which our boys did admirably.”

That’s exactly what the Highlanders did, scoring on their next three drives — with quarterback Ryland Jessee scoring a passing and rushing touchdown, each followed by a two-point conversion and a field goal — and forcing back-to-back three-and-outs to increase their lead to 19-7.

St. Francis adjusted to the aerial attack, with junior quarterback Aaron Knapp — making his first start after overcoming cancer in the offseason — assisting the Lancers twice in the second quarter.

However, with 4:20 remaining in the first half, Keanaaina fumbled inside the 10-yard line, resulting in a turnover. With 27 seconds left, the Lancers marched down to the Helix 7-yard line, but Knapp threw a pass to a slipping receiver, and Helix defensive back Carter Ross caught the pass and raced 99 yards to the other endzone for a pick-six.

“I feel like the adrenaline has worn off after the first 50 yards,” Ross said. “I’m just glad I was able to beat all of the angles out [from the St. Francis players] and nobody could catch me.”

Instead of the Lancers cutting the Highlanders’ lead to a single point, the Highlanders went into halftime leading 25-7.

“That changed the whole dynamic of the game,” Jones explained. “It was the play of the game.”

Helix would add three more touchdowns in the second half, with Jessee finishing the night 11-for-17 for 154 yards and two passing touchdowns, while also gaining 34 yards on five carries. Kevin Allen III, the Highlanders’ workhorse running back, added 93 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.

Knapp responded for St. Francis with two second-half passing touchdowns, connecting with Mack Mrowka for a 19-yard score in the third quarter and Perrion Williams for a 2-yard score in the fourth. He finished the night 14-of-27 for 143 yards, and while he admitted it was “cool to be on the field” after overcoming cancer, he was far more focused on what he thought he could improve on.

“I think we showed a lot of good signs, but there were a lot of mistakes all over the field, and a lot of it was on me,” Knapp said. “My ball placement on a lot of passes could have been better, and I just think I need to have more composure back there.”

While Knapp was disappointed with his own performance, his teammates and coaches are still amazed at his ability to stay on the field at all — let alone be a key part of the Lancers’ future.

“Aaron is the best leader I’ve ever been on a team with,” said Keanaaina, who rushed for 127 yards and scored early. “He’s inspiring, especially given what he’s been through and his ability to lead the team.” Yes, he is our primary leader.”

“You almost forget that he’s been through all that he’s been through,” Calcagno added. I attempted to approach him before the game and simply say, ‘Hey, I know you’ve been through a lot, let’s just go play football.’ Isn’t it true that it’s easier said than done? He tried, but he’s so talented that he wants to make every play. He does some really good things, and we’re glad we have him for another two years.”

The presence of a well-known alum reminded the Lancers of Helix’s pedigree. Former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith was in Mountain View to support his alma mater, going out for the coin toss and staying for the entire game.

And the tests for St. Francis will not get any easier from here. Next week, they’ll travel to San Joaquin Section powerhouse Monterey Trail before hosting Bay Area powerhouse De La Salle the week after. They’ll also face the reigning NorCal Open champion and West Catholic Athletic League rival Serra at the end of September, and the rest of the WCAL will be tough as well.

“This is St. Francis football,” said Keanaaina. “We’re getting the best competition we can get.”

That’s why the Lancers are aware that they must quickly correct what went wrong on Friday night.

“That’s a very good team,” said Calcagno. “We scheduled those types of teams on purpose to help us improve, and we were aware of that going in.” How effective are we? We have no idea. I like a lot of what we saw, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

“Hopefully, those were the first game mistakes, and that’s not how our season is going to go.”