Skip to content
  • Los Alamitos' Matt Locher brings down Edison quarterback Grant Lowary...

    Los Alamitos' Matt Locher brings down Edison quarterback Grant Lowary during the first half of their football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Edison's Tommy Mang recovers a Chargers' fumble in front of...

    Edison's Tommy Mang recovers a Chargers' fumble in front of Los Alamitos' Brandon Ezell during the Chargers' 35-14 los to Los Alamitos at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Edison's Gasper Atencio lies injured on the field during the...

    Edison's Gasper Atencio lies injured on the field during the Chargers' 35-14 loss to Los Alamitos at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos quarterback Jack Telenko runs for a first down...

    Los Alamitos quarterback Jack Telenko runs for a first down past Edison's Jake Favreau during the Griffins' 35-14 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos' Matt Locher is wrapped up by Edison's J.R....

    Los Alamitos' Matt Locher is wrapped up by Edison's J.R. Pasa, left, and Robert Lerma during the Griffins' 35-14 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Edison's Jacob Marines stretches for yardage during the Chargers 35-14...

    Edison's Jacob Marines stretches for yardage during the Chargers 35-14 loss to Los Alamitos at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos' Hayden Smith is tackled by Edison's Shane Davis...

    Los Alamitos' Hayden Smith is tackled by Edison's Shane Davis after catching a second half reception during the Griffins' 35-14 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos' Denzal Brantley powers past Edison's A.J. Beynon for...

    Los Alamitos' Denzal Brantley powers past Edison's A.J. Beynon for a second half touchdown during the Griffins' 35-14 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos' Drew Platt and Blake Johnson, right, celebrates after...

    Los Alamitos' Drew Platt and Blake Johnson, right, celebrates after sacking Edison quarterback Grant Lowary during the Griffins' 35-14 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos' Denzal Brantley scores a second half touchdown past...

    Los Alamitos' Denzal Brantley scores a second half touchdown past Edison's A.J. Beynon during the Griffins' 35-14 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Edison fans cheer on their team during the Chargers' 35-14...

    Edison fans cheer on their team during the Chargers' 35-14 loss to Los Alamitos at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Edison's Jake Favreau shows off a first half reception during...

    Edison's Jake Favreau shows off a first half reception during their football game against Los Alamitos at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • The Los Alamitos marching band performs their halftime show at...

    The Los Alamitos marching band performs their halftime show at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos' Connor Iris can't haul in this first half...

    Los Alamitos' Connor Iris can't haul in this first half pass from quarterback Jack Telenko during their football game against Edison at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos fans cheer during the Griffins' 35-14 victory at...

    Los Alamitos fans cheer during the Griffins' 35-14 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos' Denzal Brantley gets away from Edison's Robert Lerma...

    Los Alamitos' Denzal Brantley gets away from Edison's Robert Lerma and Gasper Atencio, right, during the first half Thursday.

  • The Los Alamitos marching band leaves the field after their...

    The Los Alamitos marching band leaves the field after their halftime show at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos' Denzal Brantley gets some air after being tackled...

    Los Alamitos' Denzal Brantley gets some air after being tackled by Edison's Jake Favreau during the first half of their football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos fans snaps a photo during the Griffins' 35-14...

    Los Alamitos fans snaps a photo during the Griffins' 35-14 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

  • Los Alamitos' Blake Johnson brings down Edison's Jacob Marines during...

    Los Alamitos' Blake Johnson brings down Edison's Jacob Marines during the first half of their football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach Thursday night.

of

Expand

LONG BEACH – Los Alamitos had come so close to winning a league championship the past few years.

The Griffins got one Thursday. They beat Edison, 35-14, at Veterans Stadium to win the Sunset League championship in the final game of the regular season for both teams. Los Alamitos and Edison went into the game with 4-0 league records.

Los Alamitos concluded the regular season at 9-1 overall and 5-0 in league. Its loss was to Narbonne of Harbor City.

It is Los Alamitos’ first league championship since 2010, and it is the 17th league championship for Griffins coach John Barnes, whose 317 career wins is the most in county history.

Eighth-ranked Los Alamitos had a 14-7 lead at halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, the Griffins scored touchdowns on three consecutive offensive possessions to pull away.

Matt Locher and the other Griffins seniors were ecstatic.

“The last few years we’ve come up short,” Locher said. “To be a senior, to go 5-0 in league in front of a great crowd, to go undefeated and win league, it’s unbelievable.”

It was an enjoyable win for Barnes, too.

“It always means so much,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s never not really special. It’s so hard to win our league because it’s always so balanced.”

Locher, better known as one of the county’s top linebackers, had two touchdown runs, one for 7 yards and the other for 36 yards. He and Jonathon Jennings had two sacks each. Brandon Ezell and Schuyler Whitehead had interceptions, with Ezell’s coming at the Los Alamitos 5-yard line in the third quarter when the Griffins were leading by 14 points.

Denzal Brantley rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns. His third scoring run covered 71 yards.

Grant Lowary threw two touchdown passes for Edison.

As sole champion, Los Alamitos goes to the CIF-Southern Section playoffs as the league’s No. 1 representative in the West Valley Division. That guarantees the Griffins a first-round home game against another league’s No. 3 or 4 team.

Edison (7-3, 4-1) is the league’s No. 2 representative. CIF-SS playoff brackets will be released Sunday.

Los Alamitos took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 14-yard touchdown run by Brantley. The Griffins made it 14-0 in the second quarter on a 7-yard touchdown run by Locher, his first carry of the game.

Edison scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Lowary to Jake Favreau to cut the Chargers’ deficit to 14-7.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com