And the Last Shall Be the First? Ask Los Alamitos, Esperanza : Football: After losing to the Aztecs in 1991, the Griffins started an unbeaten streak that has reached 42 games. They meet again tonight.
There was nothing surprising, nor much memorable, about that night. Certainly, no eyebrows were raised.
Esperanza merely cruised to another victory, a 28-7 romp over Los Alamitos. Victory No. 21 in a streak that would reach 27.
“I think they were banged up pretty good and I think we returned a kickoff for a touchdown,” Esperanza Coach Gary Meek said. “But I really don’t remember that much about the game.”
Who does? But who knew the significance?
The Griffins have not lost since, an unbeaten streak that has reached 42 games heading into tonight’s Sunset League showdown against Esperanza (7 o’clock, Long Beach Veterans Stadium). Los Alamitos is the most successful program of the last three seasons, with three Southern Section titles to prove it.
Esperanza and Los Alamitos have played four times since that night and the Griffins have dominated. Los Alamitos is 3-0-1 since. The closest the Aztecs came was a 14-14 tie in the 1992 Division II title game.
Los Alamitos leads the series 8-6-1. The unbeaten streak, which includes 21 consecutive victories, is closing in on the section record of 46, held by Temple City (1969-73) and Canyon Country Canyon (1983-86).
But no one saw it coming on the night of Oct. 25, 1991.
“I walked off the field that night saying, ‘Man those guys are really good,’ ” Barnes said. “If we’d had played them for 20 hours, nothing would have changed except they would have had a lot more points.”
The Aztecs gained 349 yards, 199 rushing with their wing-T offense. Garrick Emery rushed for 116 yards. Jeff Gaeta gained 52 and Marcus Tayui 42. They did it without three starting offensive linemen, who were injured.
Los Alamitos hung close for a while. Junior Tim Carey--the last Griffin quarterback to lose a game--passed for 197 yards. George Sagen caught six passes for 77 yards and intercepted a pass. Running back Marchant Wright gained 70 yards.
But the Griffins could not overcome three turnovers or an 83-yard kickoff return by Esperanza’s Ryan Corbett.
“I thought we played a perfect first half, but the kickoff return broke our backs,” Barnes said. “We couldn’t beat them.”
The Griffins were having trouble beating anyone. True, they were 5-0 after nonleague play. But that record was a bit deceiving. They were still adjusting to the run-and-shoot offense, which at times shot itself in the foot.
“We were blocking in it real well and we were coaching it real well,” Barnes said. “We had been getting by on big plays.”
Esperanza, meanwhile, was king of the hill. The Aztecs were defending Division III champions and on their way to a second league title. They also were ranked No. 1 in Orange County.
“We had back-to-back freshmen classes that were exceptional,” Meek said. “High school athletics are like that. We had a great run in 1990-91-92.”
The Griffins (7-0, 2-0) are now having theirs. It came from humble beginnings.
The Esperanza loss left them 0-2 in Empire League play, and they were in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. The Griffins had been shut out, 7-0, by El Dorado the previous week, the first time they had been shut out in 50 games.
The Griffins struggled and barely beat Katella, 9-3, the week after the Esperanza game. They ended the season against Loara and needed a two-point conversion to pull off a 14-13 victory.
Hardly the makings of a dynasty. In fact, the Griffins were looking at a coin toss just to get an automatic berth into the Division III playoffs.
Los Alamitos beat Loara on a Thursday. Those two teams would be tied for second with El Dorado, if the Golden Hawks beat Katella the following night.
Barnes, fatigued, didn’t attend. But two Griffin assistants went to watch and hope.
“About 9:30 a.m. the phone rings and I knew immediately what it was,” Barnes said. “I said, ‘El Dorado lost.’ Barry (Sher) said, ‘Yeah.’ My only comment was, ‘Oh man.’ ”
The Griffins routed Burbank, beat Hawthorne in overtime and rallied to defeat Newhall Hart in the playoffs.
It set up a rematch with the Aztecs. This time the Griffins won, 8-0, stopping the Aztecs’ 27-game winning streak--the second longest in Orange County history--and propelled the Griffins on theirs.
“We were a young team,” Barnes said. “We weren’t ready for the power they brought at us the first time. Seven weeks later, we were.”
And they have been ever since.
ESPERANZA VS. LOS ALAMITOS
Featured Game
When: 7 tonight
Where: Long Beach Veterans Stadium
Records: Esperanza (5-2, 2-0); Los Alamitos (7-0, 2-0)
Rankings: Esperanza is ranked No. 3, Los Alamitos No. 1
Noteworthy: The Griffins have a 42-game unbeaten streak. The last team to beat them was Esperanza, 28-7, in 1991.
41-0-1
1991:
Regular Season
9: Katella: 3
50: Cypress: 0
14: Loara: 13
Playoffs
31: Burbank: 0
20: Hawthorne: 14
37: Newhall Hart: 23
8: Esperanza: 0
1992:
Regular Season
21: Marina: 9
24: Fountain Valley: 7
28: Villa Park: 27
42: Torrance Bishop Montgomery: 0
56: Lakewood: 0
37: Loara: 0
41: El Dorado: 0
34: Esperanza: 14
45: Katella: 0
35: Cypress: 0
Playoffs:
41: Arcadia: 14
48: Fountain Valley: 16
28: La Crescenta Crescenta Valley: 10
14: Esperanza: 14
1993:
Regular Season
37: Long Beach Jordan: 0
49: Pasadena Blair: 0
42: Marina: 0
48: Palmdale: 26
41: Long Beach Millikan: 0
62: Cypress: 2
41: Loara: 6
35: El Dorado: 0
49: Esperanza: 0
35: Katella: 0
Playoffs:
31: Downey Warren: 13
34: Edison: 8
42: Fountain Valley: 21
39: Huntington Beach: 21
1994:
Regular Season
24: Kennedy: 14
38: Los Angeles Washington: 7
23: Carson: 16
39: Pasadena Muir: 12
56: Long Beach Millikan: 0
34: Marina: 14
15: Edison: 12
