No. 1 Los Alamitos Finishes Regular Season Undefeated

Los Alamitos finished off the regular season the way the Griffins began it--deserving of being the county’s top-ranked team.

A 45-21 victory over Marina, before an estimated 5,000 Thursday at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach, capped a unbeaten regular season for the Griffins (10-0, 5-0), who won their first outright Sunset League championship since 1994.

“This feels great,” Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes said. “This is the fourth 10-0 team we’ve had in the ‘90s. I’ll take that.”

The Vikings finished 4-6, 1-4.

Los Alamitos had plenty at stake Thursday, from winning the league to protecting their spot when the playoff pairings are announced Sunday. Having been second behind Long Beach Poly in the Division I poll most of the season, the Griffins expect to be seeded second and get a first-round game at home.

“And it’s going to be a real tough playoffs,” Barnes said. “Survival of the fittest. I just hope we’re somewhere in the mix.”

All of that depended on winning and after Marina took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 37-yard touchdown run by quarterback Scot Austin, Los Alamitos scored 38 consecutive points.

Griffin quarterback Ryan Hanson (23 of 36, 260 yards) began the onslaught with a one-yard scoring run with 7 minutes 19 seconds left in the first quarter. In the first half, Hanson threw a pair of touchdown passes to Ryan Godfrey, scored his second touchdown on a one-yard plunge and gave the ball to Josiah Doby for his one-yard scoring run.

Mike Hill also kicked a 29-yard field goal.

After their opening 64-yard drive, the Vikings got only 18 yards of offense the rest of the half.

Los Alamitos scored only once in the second half, on a 95-yard kickoff return by Adolph Keyes. Marina did its best to keep it interesting, getting a two-yard scoring run by Ray Mietkiewicz, who rushed for 152 yards in 29 carries, and a second touchdown run by Austin.

Austin ran for 127 yards in 19 carries, but did not complete a pass in four attempts.

Afterward, the Griffins celebrated in low-key fashion.

“We were glad to go unbeaten and we didn’t mind the No. 1 thing,” said Godfrey, who caught eight passes for 99 yards. “But winning the league was the most important thing. And now it’s the playoffs.”