Carey, Ruberio Are Great Team in Unlikely Victory

They went to the well once and almost drew water, so Los Alamitos quarterback Tim Carey and wide receiver Don Ruberio thought another attempt was in order.

Bring on the buckets.

Carey, a junior with an excellent arm, combined with Ruberio for a touchdown on a 35-yard pass play with 8 minutes, 4 seconds remaining in the second quarter to give the Griffins an 8-0 victory over Esperanza, and one of the biggest upsets in county football history.

That well-timed play, on something the Los Alamitos playbook lists as “Fire 4 Power,” were all the points the Griffins needed to snap Esperanza’s 27-game winning streak and win the Southern Section Division III championship Saturday at Cerritos College.

Carey, who passed for 210 yards, said the plan was to throw more often to Ruberio instead of the Griffins’ leading receiver, George Sagen, who had a county-leading 70 receptions coming into the game. The Esperanza defense buzzed around Sagen like flies at a Fourth of July picnic, so that left one other choice.

“We were hoping they (Esperanza) would cover George,” Carey said. “They did, and that left Donnie wide open. That play is to make it look like we are running and then we throw deep.”

Ruberio led all receivers with five catches for 116 yards. He even had what seemed like another touchdown ruled an incomplete pass in the end zone late in the first quarter when he dropped the ball after being hit by an Esperanza defender.

“I thought I had it (for a touchdown),” the junior wide receiver said.

The one that counted, however, left no doubt.

Ruberio beat Esperanza cornerback Kevin Shoup on a pattern up the middle and Carey threw the ball just over the reach of Shoup for the touchdown.

“They were playing zone and the guy (Shoup) looked and saw me but it was too late,” Ruberio said. “It was a great throw. They were trying to stop the (faked) run, so I just sneaked between the seams.”