PARAMOUNT – Los Alamitos coach John Barnes had one message for his team prior to kickoff Friday night in the season opener.
Don’t turn the ball over.
While it took the Griffins two quarters to heed the memo, a second-half offensive outburst proved the point to be well taken.
Senior running back Denzal Brantley had 15 carries for 128 yards and two rushing touchdowns, and No. 8 Los Alamitos sprinted past host Paramount, 41-9, in a nonleague matchup.
On defense, Brantley recovered a fumble and returned it 42 yards to put the game away in the fourth. Los Alamitos (1-0) outscored Paramount 27-0 in the second half, forcing the Pirates (1-1) into five punts and two turnovers.
“It was a good first win,” Barnes said. “Our defense stepped up in the second half and we started breaking off some big runs. Denzal really showed why he’s our go-to guy.”
Following an interception on Los Alamitos’ first drive of the game, Brantley broke off a 50-yard run on the ensuing possession to set up his own 4-yard scamper into the end zone. He added another TD run in the second.
Despite three turnovers on offense, Los Alamitos kept its composure. A 66-yard reception from QB Jack Telenko to Jacob Gasser was fumbled on Los Alamitos’ third possession, but the Griffins responded with another score in the second quarter. A Paramount touchdown with 25 seconds left in the half cut its deficit to 14-9.
But Los Alamitos made key adjustments, scoring on a Gasser touchdown reception less than three minutes into the second half. The Griffins added three more scores in the fourth on TD runs from Schuyler Whitehead and Telenko, before Brantley put the game away with the fumble recovery.
Paramount quarterback Cassh Maluia ran 19 times for 109 yards, but was limited to just 25 rushing yards in the second half after injuring his leg late in the second quarter.
