Los Alamitos Slips, Slides and Falls, 20-0 : Pacifica Wins Empire League Showdown, Moves Into First Place Alone

The plight of the county’s leading receiver and scorer, Los Alamitos High’s Robby Katzaroff, basically summed up the Griffins’ night against Pacifica Friday at Gahr Stadium.

With two minutes remaining and Pacifica holding a 13-0 lead, the gambling Griffins attempted their second fake punt of the game.

Katzaroff took the snap and turned to run, the same way he had started the previous fake, when he ran 18 yards before the Mariners caught on.

But this time, he had only taken a couple steps on the damp grass when his feet slipped out from under him and Pacifica’s Tim Rife crashed down on top of him.

Katzaroff lay there a moment as the roar from the crowd of 4,800 diminished. Then he pounded the field with his fist in protest of the fifth-ranked Griffins’ first loss of the season.

That play permanently shifted the advantage to the late-scoring Mariners. Pacifica (5-0, 6-2) continued on to clinch a 20-0 victory, taking sole possession of first place in the Empire League.

Los Alamitos dropped to second at 4-1 (7-1 overall) as its chances of winning its first outright league title in 19 years were diminished. The Griffins were co-champions with Loara in 1976, and won the Orange League title in 1969.

But until the fourth quarter, the game could easily have been won by either team. Pacifica’s offense accrued a large amount of yardage, and then surrendered their advantage at almost every turn by fumbling.

The hands of nearly all the Mariners’ skill-position players seemed to fail them at one time or another--quarterback Scott Pettit, tailback Callen Chase and even standout fullback Bill Hardesty.

The tone of the game for the Mariner offense may have been set when they lost the ball on the opening kickoff.

Although in Pacifica Coach Bill Craven’s words, the Mariners are “not a turnover-type team,” they fumbled five times Friday. For that reason, Pacifica had 161 yards of total offense in the first half--compared to Los Alamitos’ minus-four yards--yet led just, 3-0, on a Keith Greene field goal until the fourth quarter.

Suffice to say that both defense performed well. The Mariner defense sacked the county’s No. 4-ranked quarterback, J.T. Snow, seven times and intercepted three passes. Defensive end Brad Keeney had five of the sacks, with defensive back Dan Blake making two interceptions--one which he ran back 24 yards for a touchdown.

Blake’s performance moved him into a first-place tie in the league for interceptions. Among the other players sharing that distinction is none other than his victim, J.T. Snow, who doubles as a defensive back.

You couldn’t blame Pacifica’s defense for getting a bit frustrated with its offense. “It was so tiring,” Keeney said. “We must have been on the sideline 20 seconds and then we were back out there.

“This game was the one I’ve been waiting for all season because I know all those guys (from Los Alamitos). Then to get another shutout, especially against them, is the ultimate in defensive glory.”

The shutout was Pacifica’s fourth in five games. The only league team to score on the Mariners’ was Cypress, which scored three points in a 34-3 loss.

Snow was limited to eight pass completions in 22 attempts for 47 yards. He had thrown just one interception in league this season prior to meeting Pacifica. Katzaroff, who entered the game with an impressive 54 receptions for 880 yards and a 16.5 yard-per-catch average, caught only three passes for five yards.

The Griffins clearly missed the presence of tight end Don Dubry, who left the game after catching one pass and re-injuring his knee, which had already caused him to miss several games.

For Pacifica, Pettit completed 9 of 16 passes for 143 yards, no interceptions and a late touchdown to Willie Taylor. The game’s leading rusher was Bill Hardesty with 76 yards on 15 carries. He was pressed into duty on offense when Tony Caceda suffered a hip pointer in last week’s game. Caceda tried a couple plays in the second half Friday, but found the pain too great.