By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

HELENA – The Helena Huskies welcomed in nearby Ramsay High School on Aug. 19 for a preseason jamboree, and lost in a tight game 20-10. Both Helena and Ramsay are moving up to 6A football this season after spending the last two years at the 5A level, and both are projected to make an impression on the 6A game right away.

Helena got on the board first in this game when Cameron Beery connected on a 19-yard field goal in the first quarter. Beery’s field goal was the only time either team got on the scoreboard in the opening period, and the Huskies took a 3-0 lead into the second.

In the second quarter Ramsay senior Jamarcus Ellison broke free for a 17-yard touchdown run, and that was followed by a 34-yard pass from senior phenom Baniko Harley to Joshua Horn. Ramsay missed the second extra point and took a 13-3 lead into the locker room.

Helena came out strong in the third quarter, holding the Rams scoreless while Dionte Tolbert scored on a 12-yard run. After Bradford Willis added the extra point, the Huskies were back within striking distance, down just three points, 13-10 entering the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, it was not to be on this night as the only points scored in the fourth were via a 60-yard pass from Ramsay’s Isaiah Bradford to Tarez Rutledge, and Ramsay got the jamboree win by a 20-10 final.

Riley Davis, Lawson Peoples, Tyler Stephens and Austin Laatsch each threw passes in the jamboree, and all but Stephens were picked off once. As a cumulative group the four Helena quarterbacks went 5-for-11 for 50 yards. Devan Walker ran the ball 11 times in the jamboree for 24 yards while Wesley Featherstone had 30 yards rushing on just four carries. Norri Tinker had six total tackles in the game to lead the way for the defense.

Helena starts the season on Aug. 26 at Mountain Brook.