Los Alamitos Shoots Down Katella

Los Alamitos High School ran its run-and-gun offense to near-perfection during a 58-28 victory over Katella in the Empire League opener for both schools Friday night at Glover Stadium.

Erik Mitchell, Los Alamitos’ senior running back, did most of the running, racking up 224 yards and five touchdowns in 16 carries, a whopping average of 14 yards per carry. Mitchell scored on runs of two, eight, 16, 53 and 78 yards.

Todd Gragnano, a senior quarterback, did the gunning. He passed for 192 yards to become only the fifth player in Orange County history to pass for more than 5,000 yards in his career. Gragnano, in his third season as the Griffins’ starter, now has 5,051 yards.

Friday, he also passed for touchdowns of seven and 57 yards to Tyler Cashman.

The Griffins piled up 483 yards in offense and, because of a less-than-awesome defense, they needed almost every inch.

“Our goal is to get more points than the other team,” Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes said. “That’s just the way it is. I’m not complaining. That’s just the way it is. We’re selling more tickets this year. Nobody wants to see a 7-0 game, anyway.”

Los Alamitos’ defense has been one of the best in the Southern Section in the past several seasons, but not this year.

The Griffins (5-1 overall, 1-0 in league play) had all sorts of trouble with Katella’s option. Quarterback Dennis Briggs, and running backs Bond Ren and Jess Evans broke loose for one big gain after another.

Ren led the assault with 74 yards and two touchdowns in 15 carries. Briggs added 41 yards in 18 carries and Evans had 36 more in seven attempts, including a 26-yard touchdown run.

But the Knights (2-3-1, 0-1) had problems when they tried to pass, which seemed to be too often. Briggs completed four of 16 passes for 64 yards and two interceptions.

“They probably should have run the pitch option more,” Barnes said.

Los Alamitos led, 28-13, at halftime, but Mitchell fumbled on the first play of the third quarter and Katella recovered at the Griffin 25.

Four plays later, Ren scored on a one-yard run and then added a two-point conversion run and, all of a sudden, it was 28-21 with a long time left to play.

But Gragnano threw a seven-yard scoring pass to Cashman on the next series. Then Mitchell ran for touchdowns covering 53, eight and 78 yards on the next three possessions and the Griffins tackled Katella kick returner Pat Carter in the end zone.