HARBOR CITY – Los Alamitos finished 1 yard shy on the final play Friday from remaining undefeated and collecting its biggest victory of the young season.
Still, the No. 9 Griffins showed that they can play with a strong opponent, but host Narbonne of Harbor City held on to rally for a thrilling, 30-26, victory.
On the final play, Los Alamitos wide receiver Joe Wysocki caught a 13-yard reception from Jack Telenko at the Gauchos’ 1 and was quickly knocked down by two defenders in a play over the middle.
The dramatic ending halted a Griffins’ drive that started at their 20 with 1:06 left and one timeout.
Telenko highlighted the march with 25-yard completion to Connor Iris, a fourth-down conenction to tight end Matt Nelson and finally a 19-yard completion to Wysocki with to the Narbonne 14 with two seconds left. He spiked the ball and the scoreboard showed that time ran out but the officials placed two seconds on the clock to allow for the final play.
“Bitter,” Los Alamitos linebacker/punter Blake Johnson said of the finish. “We just came up short on some things. There are certain calls but, absolutely, we can beat these guys on any other day.”
Narbonne (1-3), coming off a bye after losses to powers Long Beach Poly, Serra of Gardena and Alemany, trailed, 26-16, about a minute into the fourth but junior quarterback Roman Ale tossed a 57-yard touchdown to Cedric Byrd with 9:19 left and a 24-yard TD to sophomore Tre Walker for the go-ahead score with 7:18 left.
Walker’s diving catch on third-down came three plays after Narbonne stopped a risky fake punt by Los Alamitos (4-1) from its 30. The Griffins’ snapped the ball to up-man Matt Locher but he was stopped for no gain.
“We made a lot of plays … but we just made too many mistakes,” Los Alamitos coach John Barnes said. “Things like the fake punt, which I’ll take the heat for. … We needed something. Why not? It’s not a league game. I’ve done it before over the years. We need a spark.”
The left-handed Ale delivered a huge second half. He passed for 191 of his 321 yards and three of his four touchdowns in the final two periods, using Narbonne’s speed advantage at receiver to his advantage.
Telenko, also a junior, passed for 250 yards and rushed for two TDs.
Los Alamitos took its final lead, 26-16, on a 1-yard TD run by quarterback Jack Telenko with 10:53 left in the fourth. The junior capped a short drive set up by a 63-yard kickoff return to the Gauchos’ 28 by Dickie Brown.
The Griffins also opened a 19-9 lead in the third on a 6-yard TD run by Locher, who was strong on both sides of the ball. Locher’s TD capped the Griffins’ second 90-yard scoring drive. But while Los Alamitos moved the ball well, it was hurt by Narbonne’s big-play offense.
Los Alamitos led, 12-9, at halftime on the strength of its defense in the second quarter.
Locher helped the Griffins recover from losing a fumble at the Narbonne 7 by recording a safety on the next play, tying the score, 9-9, with 5:23 left in the second.
Narbonne recovered the fumble on first-and-goal at its 1, but Locher quickly wrapped up speedy running back Sean Riley.
The Griffins then drove on the ensuing possession for a 36-yard field goal by Jacob Gasser to take a 12-9 lead with 2:24 left in the first half.
Los Alamitos’ defense also forced a fumble deep in its territory late in the first quarter. Lineman Jonathon Jennings stripped Riley on a third-and-3 from the Griffins’ 4 and safety Timothy Tyler recovered.
Los Alamitos opened the game with a 90-yard scoring drive, capped by a 7-yard TD run by Telenko. But in a preview of things to come, Ale responded with a 64-yard TD strike over the middle to a wide open Ikenna Ohaeri.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
