LA MESA — Quarterback Lee Norman-Lester had touchdown runs of 60 and 58 yards among his three scores, and Donte Wright scored on two short runs for the No. 7 seed Helix Highlanders, who beat No. 10 San Pasqual 49-27 Friday night in the first round of the CIF San Diego Section Division 2 playoffs.
Jordan Lindley and Bryson Calloway also ran for touchdowns for the Highlanders (5-6), who advanced to the second round to face second-seeded Steele Canyon. Helix won 39-34 at Steele Canyon on Oct. 24. The Cougars had a first-round bye.
San Pasqual (7-4) had its three-game winning streak snapped.
The Highlanders overwhelmed the Golden Eagles with their rushing game from the opening play from scrimmage, and it was often the dual-threat Norman-Lester who did the damage.
“That’s why we call him ‘Lee Wiggles.’ He’s a dynamic kid,” coach Damaja Jones said. “Because he has the ability to run and throw, it just makes him so special. When he gets out in space and things like that, if we block really good up front, the sky’s the limit.”
Norman-Lester’s 58-yard touchdown run, when he took a shotgun snap and broke free on the right side, gave the Highlanders a 21-0 lead three plays into the second quarter.
“I remember the hole being big and my O-line doing their jobs and I was just following them and I used my speed to get outside and score a touchdown,” Norman-Lester said.
His 60-yarder, also down the right sideline for Helix’s final score, came midway through the fourth quarter.
“My whole thing is, I cannot get tackled so I just kept going, kept going, and then I made a cut at the end and I scored,” he said.
He was nicknamed “Lee Wiggles” at St. Augustine before he transferred to Helix.
“I was a freshman, I was little, but I would go scout team against the varsity team and when there was a read-option I would go get loose and they’d go, ‘There goes Lee Wiggles, there goes Lee Wiggles,’ and it just lingered,” he said.
Norman-Lester’s impressive supporting cast helped give the Highlanders a 14-0 lead just less than six minutes into the game.
Wright had a 45-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, Lindley gained 22 yards on the next play and then scored on a 3-yard run.
The Highlanders got the ball right back, at their 48, when Jace Sells intercepted Robert Renteria on the Golden Eagles’ third play. Ten plays later, Wright scored on a 2-yard run.
San Pasqual got back into the game with two touchdowns in just less than two minutes in the second quarter. Landen Lockwood returned a fumble 46 yards for a touchdown with 5:50 to go and the Golden Eagles recovered their onside kick to set up Renteria’s 3-yard TD pass to Marcus Rocha to pull to 21-13. San Pasqual missed the PAT.
Wright scored on a 4-yard run to give Helix a 28-13 halftime lead. Norman-Lester scored on a 4-yard run late in the third quarter and Calloway hopped over a defender during a 27-yard TD run early in the fourth for a 42-20 lead. They were sandwiched around an 89-yard kickoff return by San Pasqual’s Jared Brecht.
“I believed in our guys,” Jones said. “We’ve had a rough up and down year this year with different things, injuries and guys coming in and out but I’m proud of how we prepare. We knew that we were going to play a good group and they had a winning record, but I knew that we can run the ball and be physical with anybody.”