Carey, Sagen Power No. 2 Los Alamitos : Prep football: They combine for three touchdown pass plays during the first half of 34-14 victory over No. 1 Anaheim Esperanza.

Tim Carey’s three first-half touchdown passes to George Sagen led No. 2 Los Alamitos to a 34-14 victory over No. 1 Anaheim Esperanza Friday in the battle of top-ranked teams in the Southern Section and Orange County.

Playing in a muddy mess before an overflow crowd at Placentia Valencia High, Carey, a senior who came into the game as Orange County’s top-rated quarterback, completed 10 of 20 passes for 150 yards. He was intercepted once.

“The guy is probably the best quarterback in the state, maybe the country, who knows?” Esperanza Coach Gary Meek said.

Said Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes of Carey: “You guys don’t know how good he is. Our offensive line did a great job, and so did the receivers.”

Sagen had seven receptions for 101 yards.

Esperanza defensive lineman Travis Kirscke, thought to be the best at his position in the state, was never really a factor. And the Aztecs’ ground game was stuck in the mud.

Los Alamitos, which defeated Esperanza, 8-0, for the Southern Section Division III title last season, improved to 8-0, 3-0 in Empire League play. Esperanza is 7-1, 2-1.

Despite the mud, Los Alamitos came out firing and led, 28-14, by halftime. But Carey seemed untroubled by the sloppy conditions or the menacing presence of Kirscke.

Carey finished the half with 133 yards on eight of 15 passing with touchdowns of 26, 16 and 21 yards to Sagen.

Sagen, Orange County’s second-leading receiver coming into the game, had five receptions for 86 yards during the first half.

Perhaps the best catch of the game was by Don Ruberio, whose 31-yard over-the-head reception bailed Los Alamitos out of a third-and-10 situation at its own 39.

On the next play, Carey hit Sagen on an inside slant pattern for a 16-yard touchdown that gave Los Alamitos a 14-7 lead with 2:57 left in the first quarter.

Moments later, Los Alamitos linebacker Marc Albert picked up a fumbled handoff by Esperanza quarterback Garrett Campbell and went 50 yards for a touchdown.

Esperanza scored its touchdowns on a six-yard shovel pass from Campbell to Jason Geottsche and a 55-yard interception return by linebacker Travis McCullough.

Uncharacteristically, the Aztecs’ passing game was more effective than their rushing attack. By halftime, they had rushed for 63 yards and passed for 106.

“We got behind and the conditions were not conducive to our kind of offense,” Meek said. “They got up on us and it was tough for us to come back with runs. We had to pass.”