ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL / PREP EXTRA : DIVISION I : Lakewood Is Little Trouble for Griffins

Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes said it was a funny game, that the playoffs can revive teams.

Yes, he was talking about Lakewood.

Perhaps, he was talking about Los Alamitos.

The Griffins scored a 40-7 victory Friday over Lakewood in the first round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs. They advanced to play Mater Dei in the second round.

This is how the Griffins (10-1) did it.

* They fell behind. After going three-and-out on offense, punter Mike Phillips dropped the snap. Lakewood recovered at the 25. Five plays later, Greg Shortle threw nine yards to Augie Zepeda and Lakewood (4-7) had the lead.

* They struck back quickly. On the second play of the next series, Kevin Feterik’s pass to Stan Guyness covered 69 yards and, with Phillips’ extra point, the score was tied.

* They struck back often. Feterik completed nine of 15 passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns, and ran 11 yards for another score.

“I though the offense played great,” Barnes said.

The defense had its moments, though Lakewood appeared to have no trouble moving the ball.

The defense stiffened on first-and-goal at the eight, forcing Shortle to attempt a 16-yard field goal after an 18-play, 90-yard drive. It was wide right 52 seconds before halftime.

“That was a great goal-line stand,” Barnes said. “They’ve done that all year. If they go in there, it gets real tight. To turn them away gave us a tremendous edge.”

Tony Hartley returned an interception 35 yards to set up Los Alamitos’ third touchdown.

Ryan Gragnano, who spent much of the first half getting burned in the secondary, intercepted two passes in the second half, setting up the fourth and sixth touchdowns.

Brent Cooper blocked a punt, setting up the fifth touchdown.

“The defense really helped us win,” Feterik said. “We’re confident we can score any play, any time, from anywhere. When we’re down, we don’t panic.”

Three of Feterik’s touchdown passes were to Hartley, covering 39, 13 and nine yards. He finished with five catches for 101, and moved past former Griffins Brad Melsby (1993, 1,279 yards) and George Sagen (1992, 1,306 yards) on the Orange County all-time single-season yardage list. Hartley has caught 71 for 1,335 and trails only Robby Katzaroff (1985, 1,340 yards).

“As long as we keep breaking our own guys’ records, it’s OK,” quipped Barnes.

He should surpass Katzaroff next week against Mater Dei.

“He’s an incredible player,” Feterik said of his favorite receiver. “It’s my fault if he drops it--he’s a gem.”