Undefeated St. Helena holds off Willits to clinch league title

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St. Helena’s football team extended its perfect season record to nine games and clinched the league title with Friday’s 28-20 home win against Willits.

“This win, it did two things as I understand it. You got to play every game, but it gave us control for the automatic qualifier for our league, which doesn’t guarantee but it definitely gives us a greater opportunity to host a home game in the playoffs,” St. Helena head coach Erick Larsen said. “If we lost, we could still be co-champions, but then we lose that. So it was a big win for that.”

For St. Helena defensive lineman Ben Brakesman, winning the league title has been a goal since he started playing football.

“It’s everything. I’ve wanted a banner since I was a kid, and I got my banner,” he said.

Brakesman’s role in securing that banner was certainly felt on the field, as he finished with two sacks, four total tackles and two for loss.

“Ben really stepped up, got pressure on the quarterback, got a couple key sacks that stopped their drives,” Larsen said.

The player said studying film on Willits helped him with his performance Friday night.

“I always saw that he oversteps, so I had to cut it in,” Brakesman said of his opposing lineman. “Once he realizes I’m cutting it in, I’m going back out. It’s all mental.”

Larsen said his team adjusted well to the Willits passing attack and six-two defensive front.

“To beat a team like Willits, it is just a character builder, because they’re a really physical team — we have to show that we’re willing to play against physical teams as we go forward,” Larsen said. “They gave us adversity; we were able to see how we responded. I’ve always believed that steel sharpens steel.”

Larsen also praised quarterback Jhony Covarrubias.

“He controlled the ball, managed the team, checked out of some calls that really helped us out,” Larsen said. “When you play against a team like Willits, you don’t want to leave time on the clock. So it’s up to us to manage the clock.”

Covarrubias finished 6-for-15 passing with 124 passing yards, 111 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

The quarterback said he was looking forward to this game, recalling that the Saints lost to Willits in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. He also wasn’t able to play against the Wolverines his junior year due to injury.

“I think it was one of the biggest games we had all year,” Covarrubias said. “We just had to keep the tempo up, have control of the ball … everything was important; everything we did today had to be perfect.”

Covarrubias said the Saints’ path to success started back in January.

“Me and my coach would go through film, what we did last year, mistakes, we should have done better,” Covarrubias said. “Everything I’ve worked for started all back in January.”

He said the team still has room for improvement, especially in pass defense. But he was happy with the offensive performance.

“What went well was our pass and our run game. When we did some screens to the receiver on the outside edge, we were able to do some great blocking. Our blocks were great,” Covarrubias said.

Larsen said the team is finally coming together as a whole, and hopes to keep the moment going against 0-9 Upper Lake next week.

“You never want to take a week off; that’s not what we were about,” Larsen said. “We have to fix all the things that we’re not doing well, and really spend time, really dialing in.”

Larsen said facing Upper Lake’s offense will help the Saints get their fundamentals down.

The Saints finished with 318 total yards, with 194 of those on the ground.

Other impact players included Dean Sommer, who had 58 receiving yards on offense and two interceptions on defense. Latif Basile also had an INT.

Julian Earls also had a six-yard rushing touchdown to score the Saints’ first points.