LA MESA – From a defender's perspective, Ty Culver doesn't look that fast – until he's running by you. He doesn't appear to have a rifle arm – until he's landing another pass in the arms of a receiver.
Looks may be deceiving, but the scoreboard isn't.
Behind a nifty night from Culver, No. 3-ranked Helix routed Steele Canyon 42-13 last night at Jim Arnaiz Field to clinch a tie for the Grossmont South League championship.
The Highlanders (7-1-1, 4-0) have won six of seven games against Steele Canyon (4-5, 2-2), losing only in 2005, when the Cougars captured the league title. The Highlanders can take the title outright next week at home against Monte Vista – along with a likely No. 1 or 2 seed in the Division II playoffs.
Steele Canyon needs to beat Mount Miguel in its finale for a probable entry to the Division III playoffs.
Connecting on his first four passes, Culver completed 10-of-15 attempts – to seven receivers – for 138 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed nine times for 92 yards, including two sacks on his first two touches.
“Their quarterback did a heck of a job with his fakes,” Cougars coach Ron Boehmke said. “There was one time I was watching (Travon) Van run around the end because I thought he had the ball, only to find out Culver was off on a 20-yarder. He's a good one, very deceptive.”
Said Culver: “We practiced hard all week, and it showed in the game. The line was blocking great, and seven receivers making catches shows you (that) guys are stepping up. That's good. We've still got a lot of work to do, but we're starting to click a bit.”
Helix got touchdowns from five players to take a 35-6 halftime lead. Van began what looked like a track meet with 50 yards on the first drive, including a 10-yard TD.
Early in the second quarter, a wide-open Paul Blakeney hauled in a lofting, 18-yard pass from Culver in the end zone to make it 14-0. A minute later, 6-foot-1, 260-pound defensive lineman Anthony Larceval scooped up a fumble and rumbled 46 yards into the end zone.
The Cougars got a fumbled punt recovered by Alex Perlin and scored on a pass from Brad Boehmke to 6-foot-5 tight end Cameron Moss to make it 21-6.
Then, Helix's 6-foot-8 tight end Levine Toilolo scored on a 12-yard pass from Culver, and Brandon Watson returned an interception 36 yards for another TD. A sixth Highlander scored to open the third quarter – Sean Linton on a 29-yard pass from Culver.
Helix coach Troy Starr was pleased with his team's fifth straight victory but saw room for improvement.
“We still haven't played excellent yet. One of these days we're going to put it all together,” Starr said.
