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BELLFLOWER – Add another to the list for Orange Lutheran – the list of heartbreaking Trinity League losses that is only three games long, but feels endless.

For the third game in the row Friday, the Lancers were in position to win in the fourth quarter against one of the state’s best football programs and again they came up just short.

This edition came on the road against defending state champion St. John Bosco.

Orange Lutheran went ahead, 35-34, early in the fourth quarter after quarterback LJ Northington’s third touchdown run, but it did not have an answer late for Bosco stars Josh Rosen and Sean McGrew in a 54-43 loss.

After the Lancers (4-4, 0-3) took the lead in the fourth, Rosen ran in the Braves’ go-ahead score from 5 yards out with 7:44 remaining. After a failed fake punt on Orange Lutheran’s next possession, it was McGrew’s 26-yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach with 6:11 left.

“It’s hard,” Orange Lutheran coach Chuck Petersen said. “This team has a lot of character and a lot of guts to keep fighting back.”

The lead changed hands nine times and momentum appeared to be shifting in the Lancers’ direction when kicker Jerry Fitschen recovered his own onside kick to open the second half. Bosco led 27-21 at the break but Orange Lutheran retook the lead on a 16-yard touchdown run by Elijah Bynum.

That score was only part of the duel that ended only when Bosco (7-1, 3-0) pulled away in the fourth. Rosen connected with Jared Harrell for a touchdown pass late in the third and Northington put the Lancers up for the last time with 10:44 left in the fourth.

As close as Orange Lutheran’s losses have been, Bosco has similarly been in three tight games in league play, but has come out on the winning side each time. Rosen, who threw for 239 yards on 19-of-28 passing, and McGrew, who ran for 163 yards on 21 carries, have been at the center of it all.

“It’s exactly what we think we’re going to get (every week),” Bosco coach Jason Negro said. “It’s just a grind. Last year, we were just that much better than everybody. This year, we’re all around the same, and it’s going to take gut checks to get your wins.”

Northington, a junior, led Orange Lutheran with 99 yards rushing on 12 carries and threw for 157 yards on 14-of-27 passing, but had two crucial interceptions in the second half. The Lancers ran for 361 yards and racked up 518 yards of total offense.

“We don’t have any excuses,” Petersen said. “They’re a good football team and I felt we went toe-to-toe.”

Contact the writer: jbalan@ocregister.com