 SCAMPER: Ronnie Hillman cuts around the corner for a big gain. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER |
Los Alamitos escapes La Habra with wild victory
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LA HABRA– La Habra proved it could play with the big boys, but No. 4 Los Alamitos was still able to escape with a 28-21 nonleague victory on Friday night at La Habra High.
It looked like Los Alamitos was in total control after Griffins quarterback Clark Evans scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line to give Los Alamitos a 28-7 lead 49 seconds into the fourth quarter. (Click here for full game stats.)
Some tense words were exchanged by both teams after Evans scored and a La Habra player received an unsportsmanlike penalty.
That's when the game took a turn for the wild.
The Highlanders put together a furious fourth-quarter rally. By the time it was over, at least one player was ejected, and the officials ran off the final 25 seconds after a La Habra fan threw a water bottle at an official after an onside kick in the final 30 seconds didn't go La Habra's way.
"They finally kind of came alive," Los Alamitos coach John Barnes said. "We probably, just like you, felt we had it in the end and kind of shut it down a little bit. And they are not going to quit.
"It's a good football team and really well coached. The atmosphere here is wonderful, but it's electric. It's a wild game and we were able to manage through all of that."
La Habra quarterback Randall Nygren, who finished with 104 rushing yards on 11 carries, scored on runs of 3 and 29 yards in the fourth quarter. His 29-yarder came with 29.8 seconds left.
The Highlanders (3-1) went for the onside kick, and La Habra's Jimmy Lopez came up with the ball after an intense scrum. Unfortunately, the ball hit one of the Highlanders before going 10 yards, and Los Alamitos (4-0) was awarded the ball.
That touched off the bottle-throwing La Habra fan. The officials didn't even hesitate to end the game right on the spot.
"The guy running down, it hit his knee and bounced," Barnes said. "I saw it. It wasn't close. Thank goodness he was a good enough official, and he saw it. Some guys would get caught up in the game like this and not even look for it."
Barnes was impressed by the Highlanders, who should be contenders in the Southwest Division.
"They are a big physical bunch," Barnes said of the Highlanders. "They have gotten a lot bigger than they used to be. They can be a Division I (or Pac-5) school."
Evans had a big game for the Griffins, completing 14 of 22 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown, which came on a 36-yard Hail Mary to Darryl Jenkins to end the first half. He also rushed for 108 yards on 24 carries.
Evans almost had another touchdown pass in the third quarter when he hooked up with Jenkins for what would have been a 10-yard touchdown. But Jenkins fumbled at the goal line. Fortunately, Los Al wide receiver Paul Richardson pounced on the loose ball and recovered it in the end zone for a TD.
Los Alamitos' defense was able to keep La Habra's Ronnie Hillman from making any huge plays. Hillman had 67 yards on seven carries and two catches for 50 yards.
• Click here for full game stats.
Contact the writer: carias@ocregister.com
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