The Los Alamitos High captured the Sunset League Championship with a 21-10 win over Edison on Friday at Veteran’s Stadium, Long Beach.
The league title marked the fourth in a row for the Griffins and the fourth consecutive year of going 5-0 in league play. Edison hung around, trailing just 14-7 at halftime and then added a field goal in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 14-10.
But the Griffins added another touchdown after the defense forced two intentional grounding penalties on Edison and the Griffins got the ball off a punt at the 44 yard line. Anthony League broke a big run for a key first down and Lenny Ibarra capped the short drive with a touchdown run that pushed the lead to 21-10 with 5:44 left in the game.
Edison did a good job of using most of the play clock and grinding out first downs with run plays to shorten the game and limit the number of offensive plays for the Griffins. After running up big scores in their first four games, Griffin Head Coach Ray Fenton was not surprised by the low scoring game against Edison.
“So what you’ve got is a really great game plan on their end to shorten the game, and they play really good defense,” Fenton said.
But the Griffins also started the game with a steady game plan that got them out to a 14-0 lead with sustained drives that put pressure on the Edison defense. On the game’s opening drive, the Griffins drove 70 yards with quarterback Alonzo Esparza completing key passes to Hayden Eligon and Ibarra. Then on fourth and two, League broke free for an 11-yard touchdown run to give the Griffins a 7-0 lead.
Edison followed with a drive to the Griffin 36 yard line, but the defense batted down a pass attempt on fourth and 6 and the Griffins took over. Another long drive, aided by a roughing the passer penalty and a pass interference got the Griffins down to the Edison seven yard line. From there, Jerod Terry Jr. capped the drive with a touchdown run that pushed the lead to 14-0.
Fenton noted that the Griffins’ depth on the defensive line was a key to wearing down the Chargers. It could also bode well for the Griffins in the playoffs.
“So what you’ve got is a really great game plan on their end to shorten the game, and they play really good defense,” Fenton said.
The Griffins open the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs with a home game against Upland High, the No. 1 team out of the Baseline League. The game will be at 7 p.m. Friday at Westminster High School.