Marina Shocks Coach, No. 6 Los Alamitos

Marina rolled up 440 yards in total offense and forced five turnovers as the Vikings stunned sixth-ranked Los Alamitos, 28-14, Thursday at Westminster High.

The victory surprised Marina Coach Mark Rehling, who acknowledged his team had a less-than-stellar week of practice. The Vikings (5-2-1, 1-1-1) had lost their previous four meetings with the Griffins (6-2, 1-2) by a combined 161-14 count and had won only two of their last 18 Sunset League games.

Sophomore fullback Ray Mietkiewicz (120 yards), junior quarterback Scot Austin (87 yards rushing), and senior tailback Steve Franks (63 yards) found ample running room behind a strong line. Marina also had an advantage in time of possession, of 32 minutes 59 seconds to 15:01.

While Marina was relishing in its strength, Los Alamitos couldn’t find a groove with its passing game. Zach Blazek, who had only two interceptions in 188 attempts, was picked off four times. Blazek finished with 201 yards on 15-of-30 passing.

Lank intercepted a Blazek pass on the opening play from scrimmage, and six plays later, Marina had the lead on a three-yard Mietkiewicz plunge. The lead increased to 14-0 later in the quarter as Austin connected with Lank behind on a 44-yard touchdown play.

A pair of Blazek touchdown passes closed the gap to 21-14. But Marina forced four turnovers on the final six Los Alamitos drives and held on downs on the other two. Los Alamitos finished with minus-one yard rushing and only 246 total yards.