Helix vs. Mira Mesa Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Helix and Mira Mesa face off tonight in the opening week of high school football. A cross-town San Diego matchup that ended in a 28-20 Helix win last season.</em> <em>We'll take a look at players to watch on both sides and I offer my winning pick for the game.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Helix</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Helix is coming off a strong 9-4 season in which they opened playoffs with a victory over Lincoln but ultimately lost to Mater Dei Catholic 24-21 in the second round. They lose standout '22 RB Christian Washington who shouldered a heavy workload for the offense last season but return starting ‘24 QB<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='115450' first='Ryland' last='Jessee']</strong>. '23 ATH<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='384778' first='Adren' last='Parker']</strong> is a high-level athlete and explosive playmaker on both sides at WR/DB that just picked up a D-I offer from BYU in June. ‘23 LB<strong> Ezriel Noa </strong>and the pair of junior<strong> </strong>DL<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='273595' first='Travis' last='Ford']</strong> and <strong>Jordan Gash</strong> are players to watch on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mira Mesa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mira Mesa's offense will be led by rising 2024 QB prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='235224' first='Tyson' last='Line']</strong> who's flashed a growing physical skillset and arm talent over the past year. He'll be looking to feed talented playmakers in '24 WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='326860' first='Chris' last='Brown']</strong> and ‘23 RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='25452' first='Makei' last='Thompson']</strong> who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards as the lead back last season. LB<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='25458' first='Micah' last='Vanta']</strong> and DB<strong> Isaiah Waldon</strong> are senior returners on defense that should be impact players this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game Preview: </strong>Both teams have talented skill-players that can generate points and support these younger, talented QBs. I think [player_tooltip player_id='115450' first='Ryland' last='Jessee']'s experience and ability to manage the adrenaline of a season-opener will be the difference and Helix comes away with a narrow one-possession win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pick:</strong> Helix </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->