Los Amigos football beats Loara in Garden Grove League opener

From the moment it came together for training camp, the Los Amigos High School football team has been on a road to discovery.

The Lobos first had to find out what it would be like playing for a new head coach and, seemingly ever since, the new challenge has been learning to deal with adversity.

Despite another key injury, Los Amigos pulled through for a 21-3 victory over Loara on Thursday night in a Garden Grove League opener at Glover Stadium.

Isaac Cuevas turned three carries into 115 yards and a touchdown, but the junior running back and strong safety departed the contest after suffering an apparent collarbone injury on defense in the first half.

“In the second half, everyone was down, but then I was telling them, ‘Yo, we got to do this … for [Cuevas], man. We got to pick this up for No. 5,” senior running back and free safety Bao Huynh said. “So everyone just picked it up.”

Los Amigos (3-3) had just gotten back quarterback Maysen Navarro, whom Lobos coach Romel Guess said had been out with a knee contusion since the Westminster game in Week 2.

Navarro had a passing touchdown and threw an interception in his return. He also secured an interception defensively with the Saxons attempting a pass downfield at the end of the first half.

Guess said his team has looked to establish itself on the defensive end. With three turnovers created on the evening, the Lobos looked the part.

Bryan Organista had two key takeaways, both ending trips into the red zone for Loara (2-4). After Ezra Tafilele picked off Navarro, the Saxons had driven to the Los Amigos 19 when Organista forced a fumble and made the recovery.

“I just saw my screen pass coming in towards me, and once I saw that, I just cut back in and went for the tackle and got the fumble,” Organista recalled of the play.

The turnover preserved a 14-3 lead for Los Amigos in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, Organista also made an interception in the end zone.

“I’ve been an [offensive coordinator] all my life until this year, and now, we’re priding ourselves on defense, and we’re letting the defense set the tone,” Guess said. “I thought both of those guys [Huynh and Organista], as well as Bao played on offense, I thought they both set the tone defensively, and that’s what carried us tonight.”

Huynh rushed 21 times for 89 yards, including a one-yard touchdown that opened the scoring in the first quarter. He also scored on a screen pass that went for a 26-yard touchdown in the third quarter. There was pressure in the face of Navarro on the third-and-14 play, but he was able to get the pass off.

“I feel more confident because now we got our main quarterback back and throwing the ball to the wide receivers,” Huynh said of having Navarro back on the field. “We’re getting yards, so I feel pretty confident for the next game.”

Jason Marin, Johnny Hernandez, Moises Flores and Organista all made tackles for a loss for the Lobos. Flores recorded the lone sack of the contest.

Los Amigos remains on the road to face Bolsa Grande next Friday.

Loara quarterback Remy Ybarra had 74 passing yards and 70 rushing yards. Alex Salas provided two solo tackles for a loss, and Ignacio Medina had a 20-yard field goal to account for the Saxons’ points.

Lance Neal, the head coach of the Saxons, is back on the sidelines after serving as the athletic director at Laguna Beach in his previous post. He spoke highly of Salas for playing on both sides of the ball.

“He’s a junior, good defensive end for us, plays hard every week,” Neal said. “He’s had to play a lot of offensive line because we’ve had a couple injuries on the offensive line, so he started out primarily as a defensive guy, and he’s had to go both ways.”

Garden Grove League

Los Amigos 21, Loara 3

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Los Amigos 14 – 0 – 7 – 0 – 21

Loara 0 – 3 – 0 – 0 – 3

FIRST QUARTER

LA – Huynh 1 run (Villicana kick), 6:37.

LA – Cuevas 54 run (Villicana kick), 1:50.

SECOND QUARTER

L – Medina 20 FG, 7:38.

THIRD QUARTER

LA – Huynh 26 pass from Navarro (Villicana kick), 4:53.

FOURTH QUARTER

None.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

LA – Cuevas, 3-115, 1 TD.

L – Ybarra, 8-70.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

LA – Navarro, 6-10-1, 55, 1 TD.

L – Ybarra, 8-16-1, 74.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

LA – Huynh, 1-26, 1 TD.

L – Baez, 2-32.

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