Covering Griffins’ Sagen Isn’t One-Man Job : Empire League: On muddy field, senior receiver catches seven passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns.

Los Alamitos wide receiver George Sagen thought a good thing had ended last week when he faced double coverage for the first time against El Dorado. Welcome back to the good times, George.

Sagen looked across the line of scrimmage Friday night and couldn’t believe his eyes. There was only one defender staring at him and he was a sophomore. Predictably, the county’s best receiver had a big night, catching seven passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-14 victory over Esperanza.

“Mission Impossible,” or in this case, the assignment of trying to cover Sagen single-handedly, went to Esperanza’s Kareen Clark. Clark must have known he was going to be in for a long night when Sagen raced by him on a 26-yard touchdown play in the first quarter that set the tone for the Griffins.

Esperanza came into the game ranked No. 1 in the county and had limited seven opponents to only 17 points. But Sagen outscored those seven opponents in the first half alone and Esperanza wound up losing for only the second time in its last 37 games.

“Beating Esperanza is something to be proud of for our school, our coaches and our players,” Sagen said. “After the first couple of catches, I thought Esperanza would start double covering me. I was really surprised.”

The only surprise was how easy Sagen maneuvered on a muddy field that was a quagmire after a junior varsity game played between Valencia and Anaheim two hours before the biggest game of the year.

Sagen said the poor conditions favored Los Alamitos’ potent passing attack, adding, “We know what we’re running and their defenders didn’t.”

Even in more ideal conditions, it’s doubtful Esperanza could have contained Sagen. Here’s a look at his three-touchdown receptions and his comments on the plays:

* Fade pattern for a 26-yard touchdown: “Tim audibilized at the line of scrimmage. I got a man up (Clark) and beat him. The ball was right on the money.” The play gave Los Alamitos a 7-0 lead with 7:42 remaining in the first quarter.

* Fade pattern No. 2 for a 16-yard touchdown: “This time, I think No. 3 (junior outside linebacker Jason Murrietta) was covering me. Again, Tim put the ball right there.” The play came with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter and pushed Los Alamitos ahead, 14-7.

* Streak pattern for a 21-yard touchdown: “I took the ball right off No. 6 (Clark’s) shoulder. The main thing was not to look open for the ball until the last possible second. He never knew the ball was coming.” The play came with 6:06 remaining in the first half, giving Los Alamitos a 28-14 lead.

Did Sagen feel comfortable at this point?

“Not really,” he said. “I didn’t feel like we had the game won until Marchant Wright scored that touchdown (67-yard draw play) late in the third quarter.”

Sagen, who was covered with mud from head to toe, also felt it was important to clear up something.

“Don’t let anyone tell you that playing in the mud is fun,” he said. “Getting muddy and eating dirt all night isn’t fun.”