Laguna Hills Rallies in Second Half, Beats Los Amigos

Laguna Hills thoroughly dominated the second half, scoring four rushing touchdowns--three by Mike Spraitz--for a 35-14 victory over Los Amigos in a nonleague game Friday night at Mission Viejo High.

Spraitz had 28 carries for 198 yards to lead the Hawks (6-4). Los Amigos (5-5) had four fumbles and a poor defensive performance let the Hawks rally from a 14-0 halftime deficit.

The Lobos’ Aoatoa Sualua atoned for the first of his three fumbles on the night with his ensuing interception of Hawk quarterback Brandon Champlin’s pass. Los Amigos quarterback Richard Dinh then ran 44 yards for a touchdown.

Laguna Hills was continuously hurt by penalties in the first half, committing six for 66 yards. But the most damaging play of all was Champlin’s tipped interception by Sam Islas, who returned it to the Hawk three-yard line. Sualua followed with a scoring run to push the lead to two touchdowns.

But the turning point of the game came on a gamble that backfired on Los Amigos Coach David Olsen just before halftime. With fourth and two on his own 38-yard line, Olsen decided to go for the first down. Dinh’s pass was incomplete, and Laguna Hills responded by hooking up on a 31-yard touchdown pass play from Champlin to Jay Dale.