No. 1 Los Alamitos Holds Off Marina : Football: Quarterback Tim Carey keys crucial drive as Griffins clinch 21-9 victory with fourth-quarter score.

Los Alamitos football Coach John Barnes wanted some game highlights.

Quarterback Tim Carey gave him some.

Carey’s passing sparked a clinching, fourth-quarter touchdown drive as the Griffins, top-ranked in Orange County and Southern Section Division II, held off unranked Marina, 21-9, in a nonleague game Friday at Westminster High School.

Carey, one of the top college recruits in the nation, was 18 of 31 for 275 yards and two touchdowns. But his most impressive statistics came when it counted most.

With the Griffins clinging to a 14-9 lead, Carey, who had struggled somewhat in the third quarter, completed five of seven passes for 60 yards, setting up Marchant Wright’s clinching one-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes 15 seconds remaining.

“We answered Marina’s score in the fourth quarter,” Barnes said. “That was the highlight of the game for me. That’s the mark of someone getting better.”

Marina trailed, 14-3, when a 42-yard punt return by Tim Donegan with 11:23 left in the fourth quarter got the Vikings back in the game.

His return gave Marina the ball at the Los Alamitos 16-yard line, and Tony Parrish scored on a three-yard run four plays later to cut it to 14-9.

Marina faked the extra-point kick and ran a reverse to Tom Sullivan, but Los Alamitos’ Rob Barnes stopped Sullivan at the four-yard line.

Barnes was somewhat disappointed with the Griffins’ offense, although Carey and wide receiver George Sagen (seven catches for 144 yards) played up to expectations.

“It’s still early,” Barnes said. “It’s going to take us time to get better.”

Los Alamitos was in trouble on the opening kickoff, when Jake Beeney fumbled on the return and Marina’s Alex Lopez recovered on the Griffins’ five-yard line. But Steve Trammell stopped Parrish for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-goal.

The Griffins then drove 97 yards in seven plays, with Carey completing five consecutive passes for 78 yards. He capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brad Melsby.

Marina cut it to 7-3 on Marty Sprong’s 28-yard field goal with 3 minutes 29 seconds left in the second quarter. Carey’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Robert Griggs gave Los Alamitos a 14-3 halftime lead.