La Mirada Wins Battle of No. 1s

If they didn’t play each other Friday night at the top of their games, La Mirada and Hacienda Heights Los Altos certainly played at the top of their divisions.

La Mirada, the No. 1 team in the Southern Section Division VI rankings, faced Los Altos, a two-time defending champion and the No. 1 team in Division VII.

Los Altos also had a 24-game winning streak.

The streak is over.

La Mirada’s defense held firm in the final minute at the four-yard line, and a 93-yard kickoff return by Garrett Busk was the difference as the Matadores held onto a 20-13 victory in front of about 4,500 at Los Altos.

La Mirada (2-0) also got two touchdown runs by Junior Vaca, who gained 71 in 15 carries. The Matadores managed only 101 all night in a defensive struggle.

Chris Moreno, a transfer quarterback from West Covina, completed 11 of 15 passes for 115 yards.

Keith Brown led Los Altos (2-1) with 60 yards rushing in 18 carries. The Conquerors rushed for 136 yards, and passed for 137 behind Ordonez, who completed 10 of 26.

The teams had not played each other in more than a decade, but don’t expect this burgeoning rivalry to end anytime soon. ‘Next year,’ Mele said, ‘We’ll pack the place.”

With time ticking off, Los Altos had first down at the eight-yard line, but got only as far as the four when the game reached its critical moment. And then, Randall Brown’s halfback pass to his brother, Keith--covered by four defenders--fell incomplete.

“Why that play? That’s a good question. I thought they’d suck up on the option, and they didn’t,” said Los Altos Coach Greg Gano. “It wasn’t a very good call. If we had scored, we would have gone for two.”

Twice in the fourth quarter, Los Altos got inside the La Mirada 20-yard line and failed to score. Another time, in the first half, it reached the 25 and came away with nothing. “We thought we’d be pretty strong on defense,” La Mirada Coach John Mele said. “But the kickoff return started the whole thing.”

The Matadores scored on the opening kickoff, with Busk returning it 93 yards for a 6-0 lead after the point-after kick failed. La Mirada added to its almost-instant lead on its first series. Vaca’s 22-yard punt return provided good field position, and his 14-yard run capped a 58-yard drive for a 13-0 lead.Los Altos answered, and needed only eight plays to go 65 yards before the first quarter ended, helped by a 15-yard third-down completion to Randall Brown and a personal foul at the end of the playLos Altos had a 69-yard scoring drive in the third quarter that ended with a juggling over-the-sholder reception by Caleb Flores from quarterback Carlos Ordonez, both juniors. But the Conquerors missed the point-after.

And then they missed in the fourth quarter.