Los Altos Defends Its Crown, 21-17

Tau Alo got things started for Hacienda Heights Los Altos in the Southern Section Division VI championship game Saturday afternoon, and Brigham Harwell and Daniel Drayton put the finishing touches on a 21-17 victory over Orange Lutheran at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Alo, a senior transfer from Compton Dominguez, caught a 53-yard pass for a touchdown on the Conquerors’ first drive of the game and finished the first half with six catches for 115 yards and an interception in Los Altos’ end zone.

Harwell, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound defensive end who has committed to UCLA, scored the Conquerors’ second touchdown on a two-yard run from the fullback position in the first quarter.

His two hard hits on Orange Lutheran’s Seth Blackamore in the second half knocked the quarterback out of the game with a separated shoulder.

Drayton, a senior running back and defensive back, sealed the Conquerors’ second consecutive title with an interception in Los Altos’ end zone with 40 seconds to play.

“We had our sights set on going back to back since last year,” said Harwell, who had two sacks Saturday, giving him 68 1/2 for his career, half a sack short of the school record held by Shaun Cody, now at USC.

Neither team had difficulty moving the ball in the first half, which ended in a 14-14 tie, but two turnovers by each kept either from pulling away.

Harwell sent Blackamore to the sidelines with a hit in the third quarter. Blackamore returned three plays later, but five plays after that, he got hit again by Harwell and was forced to leave the game for good.

The Lancers’ drive stalled, but Troy VanBlarcom kicked a 32-yard field goal for a 17-14 lead.

On Los Altos’ ensuing possession, Orange Lutheran intercepted its third pass of the game but was forced to punt two minutes later.

The Conquerors (14-0) then marched 81 yards in nine plays and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard sneak by quarterback Jason Estrada with 5:11 remaining.

Orange Lutheran (12-1) gave itself an opportunity to retake the lead when backup quarterback Blake Lucas, a sophomore, hit Brandon Rohr on a 57-yard pass play on a third-and-35 from its own 24-yard line.

The Lancers moved the ball to Los Altos’ nine, but Lucas, pressured by Harwell, had his pass intercepted by Drayton in the end zone.

Brendan Circle, who caught first-half touchdown passes of 23 and 83 yards for the Lancers (12-1) and intercepted a pass in the end zone, said the change of quarterbacks did not affect the team.

“We worked with Blake all season,” Circle said. “We have as much confidence in him as we do in Seth.”