SAN DIEGO -- Don't be surprised if you see Rene Siluano walking around school Monday carrying a football. It will probably be the football.

With Oceanside High's hopes for a fifth straight CIF San Diego Section Division II football championship quickly fading, Siluano stepped into the limelight, to the point that people might never forget the last play of his junior season.

After stopping Helix on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line for a 1-yard loss, the Pirates braced for what could have been the game-winning touchdown for the Highlanders.

Siluano, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound defensive back, scooted in front of 6-8, 247-pound tight end Levine Toilolo and intercepted a pass in the end zone to preserve a 23-19 victory over Helix on Friday night in the championship game at Qualcomm Stadium.

Click here for boxscore

"I figured it was either going to be a run to Travon (Van) or a high pass to Levine," Siluano said. "I saw the lineman pass, so I dropped back. I ran right to Levine because that's where they were going."

He picked off the low pass and fell to the ground with just 40 seconds to play.

"That was a goal-line stand that will live forever," Oceanside quarterback Jordan Wynn said. "People will talk about what our defense did at the end for a very long time."

The top-seeded Pirates (12-0-1), unbeaten in their last 25 games, now can only wait to see if they'll be picked for the CIF Division II state bowl game. Oceanside, the defending state bowl champion, will vie for the Southern California spot with Cathedral Catholic (13-0), which won the Division III title earlier Friday. The pairings will be announced on Sunday.

"I'm not even thinking about the bowl game," Oceanside coach John Carroll said. "We had to win this one and we did a fantastic job of surviving.

"The ending was a classic. Nothing will ever take away from the fact that we made history in San Diego County with a fifth straight title.

"I'll always remember these titles, but I'll never forget this one. It was a great call by Helix and a gutsy play by our defense."

Oceanside's defense held the Highlanders to 142 total yards and just two first downs in the second half. But 62 of the yards came on their final drive to the brink of the end zone after they picked off Wynn for the third time.

"I went from despair because I thought I had just blown the CIF championship to happiness in half a second," said Wynn, who completed 18-of-34 passes for 300 yards and a TD along with three interceptions. "Good thing our defense is the real deal, or we'd be on the other side of this.

"That wasn't pretty, but five titles in a row is all that counts tonight."

Helix led 19-16 at halftime courtesy of three Oceanside mistakes, two of which were turned into touchdowns. The Pirates hadn't trailed at the break all season.

But Oceanside's Jake Fely scored on a 1-yard TD run with 6:55 left in the third quarter, the lone score in the second half. It proved to be the winning margin as the Pirates ended Helix's eight-game winning streak.

A first-quarter interception by Helix's Brandon Watson, after the Pirates had taken a 7-0 lead on Wynn's 26-yard TD pass to sophomore DeMario Coleman, turned into an 11-play drive that covered 57 yards. Helix quarterback Ty Culver went the final 5 yards with 13.8 seconds left in the quarter, but the extra point try was wide right for 7-6 deficit.

Oceanside went ahead 13-6 when King Holder ran 1 yard for a TD with 10:44 left before halftime, but the Pirates' two-point run failed.

The score held until a fumble put the Highlanders in Pirates' territory at the 49. Eight plays later, Culver scored on a 3-yard TD run, and Jake Reed's kick tied the game 13-13 with 3:34 to play in the first half.

Oceanside drove close enough for a 41-yard field goal by Jose Velasguez, giving the Pirates a 16-13 lead with 31.8 seconds left.

But a 40-yard kickoff return put Helix in good shape at the Oceanside 25. Two plays later, Van scampered 25 yards for a TD with 9.4 seconds left before halftime to give the Highlanders the lead for the first time.

Contact staff writer Terry Monahan at (760) 739-6648 or tmonahan@nctimes.com.