Orange County Prep Saturday : Los Alamitos Beats Lakewood, 28-0, for Fourth Shutout

Senior Marcus Garcia rushed for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns and Los Alamitos High School recorded its fourth shutout of the season Friday with a 28-0 nonleague victory at Lakewood High.

Garcia, a 5-foot 11-inch, 181-pound tailback, carried the ball 29 times before leaving the game following his third touchdown run with 11:26 left. He scored on runs of 4, 1 and 9 yards.

Los Alamitos is 4-1. The team’s only loss was to Tustin, 10-7, three weeks ago. Since then, Los Alamitos has not allowed a point. The Griffins have outscored five opponents, 127-10. They lead the county in fewest points allowed.

Los Alamitos outgained Lakewood, 420-65, in total yardage, but after the game, Coach John Barnes called the win, “frustrating.”

“We came out and thought this would be an easy game,” he said. “Thankfully our defense came through.”

Los Alamitos was inside the Lancer 10-yard line three times in the first two quarters, but failed to score, as Lakewood (0-4) seemed to have the momentum after the first half ended in a scoreless tie.

“Give them credit,” said Barnes. “They played a tough first half and made it difficult for us.”

Still, Los Alamitos was its own worst enemy offensively in the first half. Garcia stepped out of bounds with no one near him on what should have been a 74-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Griffin offensive line allowed Lancer defensive back Matt Nuez to trip Garcia behind the line of scrimmage on fourth and goal from less than a foot.

It has been a rough year for Lakewood Coach Gene Melvin. The Lancers are off to one of their worst starts in history. Last week, members of the Lancer booster club publicly called for his ouster.

After a good showing in the first two quarters Friday night, it appeared Melvin might be able to pull an upset. But the Lancer offense was throttled. Lakewood’s deepest penetration came early in the second quarter when Nuez completed a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Anthony Jones. But the Lancers were unable to sustain the drive.