Griffins Storm Past Fontana With Ease

Los Alamitos struck so quickly in the second quarter Friday night at Long Beach Veterans Stadium that Fontana didn’t know what hit it.

Keyed by a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown from two-way standout Keenan Howry, the Griffins scored 28 points in a 9 1/2-minute span and remained undefeated with a second-round 42-12 victory in the Southern Section Division I football playoffs.

The win, made possible by outstanding play on both sides of the ball, set up an all-county semifinal next Saturday between Los Alamitos (12-0) and Mater Dei (11-1), which also won easily, 30-3, over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Whether the Griffins, who have scored 87 points in two playoff games, can continue to be so explosive against the Monarchs is unclear. But on paper, at least, Fontana and its modified Wing-T offense looked like a tough test.

But that wasn’t the case. After trading touchdowns in the second quarter, the Griffins got a 23-yard scoring pass from quarterback Ryan Hanson to running back Josiah Doby, Howry’s stunning 36-yard interception and sprint to the end zone, and a one-yard plunge by Doby.

Just like that, what looked liked a close game turned into a 22-point halftime lead for the Griffins, a fact that led Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes to talk about how well his team played.

“This is, by far, the best game we have played this year,” he said.

He had little argument on the other side of the field.

“Yeah, I was [shocked],” said Fontana Coach Dick Bruich. “We made a bad call on that [interception] play. We were in man coverage and [Howry] got it and went for a TD. Then we get it back, don’t get a first down and punt, and boom, they’re back in the end zone again. “They’re a very, very good team and they made some fine plays.”

Howry’s interception was the back-breaker. Steeler quarterback Scott Shepard threw an out pass to Deandre Alexander and the ball went through his hands. Howry, who also caught seven passes for 124 yards as a wide receiver, grabbed the ball and beat Alexander and Shepard into the end zone.

Los Alamitos forced Fontana to punt on its next possession and got the ball back at its 30. Quarterback Hanson, who completed 17 of 26 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns, flipped the ball to wide receiver Ryan Godfrey.

Godfrey wove 56 yards down the Fontana sideline to the Steelers’ four.

After two quarterback sneaks by Hanson, Doby dove in from the one-yard line.