San Clemente overcame a rocky start and rallied from a 9-7 deficit to hand Los Alamitos its first loss of the season in an Alpha League football game on Friday at San Clemente High.
The Griffins (8-1, 1-1 in league) were able to move the ball at times but struggled to finish drives. They took the game-opening drive to the Tritons 40 yard line before the drive stalled. The punt put the Tritons at their own five yard line and they botched a snap. The ball went into the end zone for a safety and the Griffins had an early 2-0 lead.
The Griffins looked to be in good shape on the ensuing free kick as they began the drive at the Triton 40 yard line. They moved to the San Clemente 15 yard line, but a fourth down play came up short and the Griffins turned the ball over on downs.
The Tritons then put together a scoring drive that ended with a touchdown pass to take a 7-2 lead. The Griffins were able to respond with touchdown drive of their own, as Lenny Ibarra capped the drive with a TD run that gave the Griffins a 9-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
But that would be the final score of the game for the Griffins.
After the Tritons took a 14-9 lead, the Griffins again looked to answer. They drove to the Triton 13 yard line, getting two key passes from Colin Creason to Ibarra and Beckham Hofland. Ibarra also broke a run for 27 yards on the drive.
Lenny Ibarra fights for extra yardage with a defender on his back.
However, after getting to the 13, an offensive pass interference and two quarterback sacks by the Tritons pushed the Griffins out of scoring range. The Griffins and Tritons are now both 1-1 in league play. The Griffins takes on Mission Viejo, ranked No. 1 in the Orange County rankings. San Clemente leap-frogged Los Alamitos, going from No. 12 to No. 10 in the county. The Griffins fell from No. 6, to No. 11. In the CIF-SS, Mission Viejo is ranked No. 6, while the Grififns are No. 16. Los Al and Mission Viejo play at 7 p.m. Thursday at Artesia High. The Griffins can grab a share of the Alpha League title if they can knock off the Diablos.