Los Alamitos Dominates Carson : Football: Gragnano sparks top-ranked Griffins on offense and defense to 34-6 victory.

Ryan Gragnano didn’t know exactly what to expect when football practice started late last month. He knew he was scheduled to start at cornerback, but he wasn’t sure he’d see a lot of time at running back.

After his performance Thursday night, Gragnano won’t have much time to think about which side of the ball he is on.

The 5-foot-9, 170-pound senior, with ample help from his front line, rushed for 121 yards and one touchdown as the county’s top-ranked team, Los Alamitos, trounced its third consecutive opponent.

This time it was perennial City Section power Carson that fell, 34-6, at Veterans Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 3,500.

Now the question is, who’s next? Los Alamitos (3-0) has outscored opponents, 120-12, and shows no sign of letting up.

“I thought we played like a good football team tonight,” Coach John Barnes said.

The Griffins, who jumped out to a 20-0 lead, turned this one into a ho-hummer early in the second half. A lot of that had to do with what Gragnano was doing on both sides of the ball.

“I’ve always liked defense,” Gragnano said, “but I don’t mind scoring touchdowns.”

Offensively, Barnes was hoping Gragnano would give the Griffins “a spark,” after Barnes determined the team--especially the front line--was getting complacent.

“We needed that little spark, to do something different,” Barnes said. “He’s a good athlete and he gives that to us.”

Using a no-huddle offense, Los Alamitos marched 74 yards in six plays on the opening drive. Gragnano rushed for 41 yards, and Kevin Feterik scored on a quarterback sneak before all the spectators were in their seats. Los Alamitos was off on a romp.

Feterik, who passed for 188 easy yards, could have had a lot more. But he overthrew several receivers. He got a big chunk of his yardage on a 10-yard toss to wide receiver Tony Hartley, which Hartley turned into an 80-yard touchdown reception at the end of the first quarter.

Feterik passed 17 yards to Sean Stein, capping a three-play, 30-yard drive that made it 20-0 midway through the second quarter.

Carson (1-2) made it interesting, scoring on a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Allen Viena to running back Patrick McCall just before half.

But Gragnano went to work again early in the third and his 37-yard scoring run with slightly more than 3 1/2 minutes gone set the tone for the remainder of the evening.

“It’s not every week that you get the chance to play against a physical bunch like that,” Barnes said of Carson. “I’m real tickled.”