PREP EXTRA: SATURDAY FOOTBALL PULLOUT : Los Amigos Will Settle for Victory

GARDEN GROVE — Nobody on the Los Amigos team or coaching staff seemed to be rejoicing after Friday’s 28-7 victory over Garden Grove, but the 10th-ranked Lobos were feeling a lot better than they were last Friday night.

“We had to go through a lot of emotions after that game last week,” Los Amigos quarterback Ape Tuato said, referring to last week’s 28-9 loss to Rancho Alamitos. “We played good (Friday night), but not as good as the coaching staff would have wanted. But we got a win, and we feel good about that.”

Los Amigos’ victory was more of a workmanlike effort than anything. No big plays, no thrills, not a lot of emotion. But the Lobos (6-1, 3-1) executed well enough on offense and eventually wore down a smaller Garden Grove team.

The game was tied, 7-7, after one quarter, and the first half ended at 14-7, after Los Amigos kicker Warren Roberge had a 27-yard field goal blocked.

“We were breaking down a lot offensively,” Los Amigos Coach Roger Takahashi said. “We weren’t fluid at all.”

But Los Amigos controlled the ball most of the second half behind Greg Fausto’s running and Tuato’s passing. Fausto finished with a hard-earned 106 yards in 25 carries and scored three touchdowns on runs of one, five and three yards.

Tuato completed 12 of 20 passes for 185 yards, including seven of nine in the second half for 112 yards. He also ran for the Lobos’ first touchdown on a nine-yard quarterback draw.

Garden Grove (4-3, 3-1) can still win the league title, but it must upset Rancho Alamitos next week to have a chance at that.

The Argonauts scored on their second possession as they drove 51 yards in five plays, but they only reached Los Amigos territory once more the entire game. They finished with only 98 total yards.

Quarterback Troy Haller was five of 12 for 62 yards and was sacked four times. Tailback Ruben Reyna managed only 14 yards in 10 carries.

“We were prepared for this game,” Stevens said. “But they were a lot bigger than us up front and our defense was on the field almost the whole second half. They eventually just wore us down.

“I was hoping for them to beat Rancho Alamitos last week, but I think that loss woke them up. That’s the worst thing that could have happened to them.”

Takahashi was simply happy his team survived the week.

“Monday was a tough day for us, but time helps to heal things,” Takahashi said.