HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS : Los Alamitos Cruises to 28-10 Win

David Fielder, the Crescenta Valley quarterback who led the Falcons to a dramatic upset of Newhall Hart last week, watched his team lose, 28-10, to Los Alamitos in a Division II semifinal game Saturday night at Veterans Stadium.

Unfortuately, he watched too much from his back.

Fielder was sacked five times by an aggressive Los Alamitos defense. When he was up, he completed only three of 13 passes for 29 yards. He threw two interceptions.

The No. 10-ranked Falcons, who finished the season 11-2, would rather play the way they did last week, when they upset previously undefeated Hart, 13-7. In that game, Crescenta Valley controlled the ball on the ground.

But they couldn’t do that against Los Alamitos (13-0), which extended its Southern Section-leading winning streak to 20 games.

The second-ranked Griffins will play Anaheim Esperanza (12-1) in the championship game next Saturday. Los Alamitos beat the Aztecs earlier this season, 34-14.

After riding an emotional high and carrying a 10-7 lead into the locker room, Crescenta Valley fell victim to Los Alamitos quarterback Tim Carey, who has already signed to play at Stanford next season.

Carey completed 19 of 29 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown.

He guided the Griffins down the field on second-half scoring drives of 56 and 84 yards to give Los Alamitos a 21-10 lead.

The second drive was aided by a 42-yard completion the Crescenta Valley players and coaches felt was offensive pass interference.

“That call was the turning point of the football game,” Beckenhauer said. “We were in the ballgame until then.”

Los Alamitos, ranked second in the Los Angeles area by The Times, ended Crescenta Valley’s hopes by intercepting a Fielder pass at the Falcon 10 with 4 minutes 4 seconds remaining in the game. The Griffins scored a touchdown four plays later.

Crescenta Valley’s offense was led by Erik LaCom, who rushed for 110 yards in eight carries, including an 87-yard touchdown run that gave the Falcons a 10-7 lead late in the second quarter.

Lopez, who sat alone on the empty field after the game, said he was happy with the way the season turned out for Crescenta Valley, which was 5-5 last year.

The Falcons dream season looked as if it might not end against Los Alamitos early in the game. On the first play of the game, Los Alamitos’ Cory Barnett fumbled the kickoff to Crescenta Valley’s Brett Miller at the Griffin 20.

Crescenta Valley converted with a 32-yard field goal by Fielder.

Los Alamitos took the lead on a drive that covered 80 yards in 10 plays, the last being a two-yard scoring run by Marchant Wright, who finished the game with 51 yards in 18 carries.

The Falcons took the lead again on LaCom’s run, as he broke through the Los Alamitos defense, which lined up nine players within three yards of the line of scrimmage.

The extra point gave Crescenta Valley a 10-7 lead with 9:43 seconds to play in the half.

The Falcons took the lead into the locker room by holding the Griffins without a first down on their next three possessions.