LET'S CELEBRATE: Reid Williams (36) of Esperanza High celebrates his touchdown with teammates Jared Moore, (28) Casey Pearcy-Canzone (9) and Corey Hobbs. ROSE PALMISANO, OCVARSITY.COM MORE PHOTOS Related links Week 9: Friday recap Fryer tackles wild Week 9 Giant victory for Orange Lutheran Servite enjoys perfect night Newport runs past Marina Balanced attack carries Mission Viejo Tesoro stays unbeaten in South Coast Chargers hold off Barons La Habra rolls over Buena Park, 56-0 Big plays key Troy's triumph San Clemente gets first shutout Sonora stays alive with win over Sunny Hills Foothill fends off late charge by El Toro SVC posts 4th shutout Eagles roll over JSerra Valencia breezes Calvary Chapel picks up first victory Estancia wins battle for bell Panthers roll to victory Santa Ana holds on Lions rout Seahawks Whittier Christian wins big, 69-0 Huntington Beach keeps playoff hopes alive Matadors rally to win Big plays key Troy's triumph

Esperanza holds off Los Alamitos

LONG BEACH-Esperanza vs. Los Alamitos has been one of the best rivalries in county history, so it was no surprise to see the two storied programs locked in another great battle Friday night at Veterans Stadium.

It looked like the Aztecs had seized the momentum when they battled back from a seven-point halftime deficit to take a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

But this one wasn’t over until Nick Benvenuto batted down a Clark Evans pass intended for Paul Richardson in the far corner of the end zone as time expired, which gave the No. 4 Aztecs a 30-24 triumph over the No. 7 Griffins.

The Aztecs improved to 8-1 overall, 3-1 in league. The Griffins dropped to 6-3, 2-2.

“That was one of the best games we’ve ever played,” said Esperanza quarterback Sean McDonald, who rushed for 144 yards on 23 carries.

Los Alamitos put together a 10-play, 83-yard scoring drive to cut the lead to 30-24 on Evans’ 7-yard touchdown pass to Richardson with 2:21 remaining.

Los Alamitos’ defense got a quick three-and-out that gave the offense the ball back with 34 seconds and no timeouts.

Evans, who completed 20 of 46 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, completed passes of 17, 19 and 17 yards to move the Griffins to Esperanza’s 24 with six seconds left.

Evans tried to complete a pass to Richardson over the middle in the end zone but overshot him.
 
The Esperanza players started celebrating because they thought time had expired, but the officials cleared the field and put one second on the clock.

Evans went for Richardson, who had nine catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns, but Benvenuto defended the pass play to end the game.

“Esperanza and us always goes to the wire,” Griffins coach John Barnes said. “I honestly felt in my heart we’d get that last play. I just saw it coming. I thought we would get it. But that’s the way life is.”

Esperanza had 419 yards of offense but zero passing yards. The Aztecs only attempted one pass for the game, which would have gone for a touchdown, but it was dropped.
 

Contact the writer: carias@ocregister.com