Griffins Make Short Work of It

The play wasn’t even supposed to be run. A long count by Lakewood was supposed to draw Los Alamitos offside on fourth and one from the Lakewood 41-yard line in the first quarter. Instead, the ball was snapped, Gabe Gonzales was stuffed by Mike Aguayo and Los Alamitos took over in Lakewood territory.

The Griffins would use the short field to drive for a touchdown, the first of two occasions on which they scored after taking possession in Lakewood territory Friday night. It was enough to help second-seeded Los Alamitos take a 14-9 victory at East Los Angeles College in a Southern Section Division I semifinal.

“If they want to give us the ball on the 41 to open the game, we’ll take it,” said Coach John Barnes, whose team will try for its second title in three years next Friday against the winner of tonight’s Long Beach Poly-Anaheim Esperanza game.

Los Alamitos (12-1), ranked fourth in the state, has averaged nearly 40 points a game this season, and that wasn’t the only possession Barnes’ team got on a silver platter against fifth-ranked Lakewood (11-2), which has one of the most highly-touted defenses in the state.

Quarterback Jim Barnes passed 23 and 11 yards, and Cortes Rice ran in from three yards with 2 minutes 12 seconds left in the first quarter to cap a six-play, 41-yard opening drive. Dustin Abrams kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

The Los Alamitos defense, led by linebacker John Hale, took over from there. Defensive lineman Brian Mihalik intercepted a Justin Wheeler pass and returned it nine yards to the Lakewood 21. That set up Barnes’ eight-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 advantage with 47 seconds left in the first quarter.

Los Alamitos held the lead through the second quarter, in part because Toby Turpin blocked a 31-yard field-goal attempt by Lakewood’s John Gillett. More impressive was the way Los Alamitos held the lead through the third period.

With a first down at the 12, Lakewood got seven plays to try to score, four of them from inside the three-yard line. But Lakewood failed to score.

Lakewood’s first points came on a safety; the ball was snapped over Barnes’ head and out of the end zone with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

That turned the game’s momentum. Lakewood scored on the ensuing possession, a 55-yard drive spurred by Wheeler’s 23-yard scramble and a three-yard scoring run by Justin Robertson with 10:45 to go. Gillett’s extra point made it 14-9.

Barnes threw an interception at the 30 that Terrell Cole returned to the seven, but the end of the play was pivotal -- a personal foul penalty, apparently for excessive celebration. Instead of going for the winning score from the seven, the Lancers were moved back to the 22. The Griffin defense held, and Gillett missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt with 10:25 to go.