If the Maple Grove sophomore continues to produce like he did against Chautauqua Lake, the Red Dragons will carry a formidable offense through the remainder of the postseason.

Helt had a goal and an assist as No. 4 Maple Grove built up a 2-0 halftime lead en route to a 3-0 victory over the fifth-seeded Thunderbirds.

“RJ is a force on the field. Last year was his first year as a ninth-grader and he was fantastic then. He learned a lot last year and in the offseason he put in a lot of time,” Maple Grove head coach Cara Abbey said. “This year, he doesn’t play like a sophomore, he plays like a veteran.”

The win vaults the Red Dragons into Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal against No. 1 Westfield/Brocton at Eden. The Wolverines edged No. 9 Portville 1-0 on Thursday thanks to a 40-yard free kick from Nathan Culbreth at the NorthLake Family Recreation Center.

Maple Grove’s Tristan Spillane (13) just misses connecting on a header off a corner kick that eluded Chautauqua Lake goalkeeper Erik Peterson during Thursday’s Section VI Class C quarterfinal at Maple Grove Junior-Senior High School. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Maple Grove dominated possession from the get-go Thursday, hitting a crossbar in the 10th minute and a goal post in the 15th minute before Helt headed a ball to Caleb Foley in tight and the senior forward finished for his 20th goal of the season.

“He does a fantastic job, works hard and never stops,” Abbey said of Helt. “I’m glad I have him for a couple more years.”

In the 34th minute, junior Tristan Spillane possessed the ball in close next to the Chautauqua Lake goal before dropping a pass to Helt inside the 18-yard box. From there, Helt blasted a shot past Thunderbirds senior goalkeeper Erik Peterson for a 2-0 lead.

“Thankfully I’ve got smart guys. We talk about movement all the time,” Abbey said. “That movement is so important. They know they have guys moving and getting into position, whether that is in front of them or behind them. Tristan and RJ have played together for years now and it’s showing.”

Chautauqua Lake’s best opportunity to score came in the sixth minute after halftime when a corner kick was sent into the 18-yard box and a loose ball was sent off the cross bar behind Maple Grove senior goalkeeper Sam Cummings.

The Red Dragons’ Tristan Spillane attempts to get by the Thunderbirds’ Alexander Godfrey.

“They kept the ball away from him with their possession. He’s the one deep threat we had all year long,” Chautauqua Lake head coach Eric Daigler said of his team’s offensive struggles and leading-scorer Hunter Harris. “We ran a defensive formation. The goal was to possess and move it up to (Harris). Today they just possessed it so much that it didn’t give us a whole lot of chances.”

The Red Dragons continued to pressure the Thunderbirds defense and Peterson throughout the second half, and eventually one of Chautauqua Lake’s defenders cracked and shoved a Maple Grove player to the ground inside the 18-yard box in the 68th minute.

“They’re a really well put-together team. They possess the ball and they use the entire field,” Daigler said. “In the first half I thought maybe it was just the wind. It was not just he wind. … They make a lot of runs and they move the ball really well.”

Spillane was called upon to take the penalty kick and he beat Peterson to the corner of the net for his 14th goal of the season to essentially put the game away.

“I am absolutely blessed with about seven guys that are good from distance, they’re good in the box and they’re good with movement off the ball,” Abbey said. “Having that many threats on offense, it honestly doesn’ t even matter what combination of guys I have out there.”

Now the Red Dragons will have to contend with Westfield/Brocton for the third time this season. On Sept. 25, the Wolverines won 1-0 on Dutch Hollow Road thanks to a Jason Almeter goal in the 21st minute and they repeated that same result last Wednesday on a Josh Heim goal in the eighth minute at the NorthLake complex.

“We are definitely looking forward to that game. … Two years ago, (former Westfield coach) Jay Pikiewicz beat me in playoffs after we beat them twice in the regular season,” Abbey said. “We are coming for them and they know it.”