Los Alamitos Rallies to Win

As the final seconds ticked away on Los Alamitos’ 22-17 victory over Esperanza before an estimated 8,000 at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach, the grin on Griffin tackle Bernard Riley could not have been wider.

“It was our turn,” said Riley, a senior, who had one of three sacks of Aztec quarterback Grant Wagner. “We’ve been the ones crying the last three years.”

There was only jubilation on the Griffin sideline Friday. The victory improved their record to 6-0, 1-0 in the Sunset League and cemented their grip on the county’s top ranking. Second-ranked Esperanza is 5-1, 0-1.

With so much riding on the game’s outcome, neither team tried anything too fancy. The one gadget play was run by Los Alamitos in the third quarter, when receiver Keenan Howry tried to pass from a double reverse. But his throw was intercepted by Aaron Hill at the Esperanza 27.

“The one thing you don’t want to do in games like this is outthink yourself,” Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes said. “So there usually isn’t much trickery. It comes down to who make plays. You expect your kids to make plays. If they don’t, you’re not going to win.”

For Los Alamitos, the playmakers were quarterback Ryan Hanson, who threw for 259 yards, and Howry, who caught six passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores came in the second half as Los Alamitos overcame a 10-7 halftime deficit.

Howry’s 28-yard touchdown reception with 1:42 left in the third quarter proved to be the game winner.

Hanson and Howry negated a big night by Esperanza running back Jarrod Schuster, who rushed for 244 yards and two touchdowns.

The Aztecs had their chances in the fourth quarter. With 6:44 to play they decided against going for a fourth-down field goal attempt from the Griffins’ 18-yard line, but but Wagner’s pass was incomplete. The Aztecs later lost a fumble on their 37-yard line, and finally ran out of downs on their last drive at their nine-yard line with 11 seconds to play.

The Aztecs got off to a fast start Friday. After stopping Los Alamitos at their one-yard line, Esperanza drove 99 yards in 12 plays. Schuster ran out of trouble for 38 yards and scored on a one-yard dive to make it 7-0, less than a minute into the second quarter.

Later in the quarter, Doby bolted 41 yards to put the Griffins into Aztec territory. A 28-yard pass play from Hanson to Howry positioned Los Alamitos at the Esperanza two, and Hanson followed his offensive linemen into the end zone for the tying touchdown.

Schuster broke off a 39-yard run, taking Esperanza from midfield to the Griffins’ 11. But Los Alamitos’ defense stiffened and the Aztecs had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Nathan Fiske with 26 seconds to play in the half.