Los Alamitos defense stops La Habra

CERRITOS - For years, Los Alamitos' football success came mostly from its offense.

The success remains, but the method is different.

Defense led Los Alamitos to another victory Thursday night. The Griffins, ranked No. 4 in Orange County, beat No. 8 La Habra, 28-13, in a nonleague game at Gahr High of Cerritos.

Los Alamitos is 4-0. The Griffins' first three victories were shutouts. On Thursday, they held a team averaging 45 points a game to less than a third of that.

"We're quick, we're fast," Los Alamitos senior safety Robert Watson said. "If somebody misses a tackle, there are another 10 guys flying to the ball."

Their chief assignment Thursday was controlling La Habra senior running back Joshua Quezada, who was averaging 126 yards a game. He rushed for 109 yards on 18 carries against the Griffins and scored on a pass reception.

The Highlanders, defending CIF-Southern Section Southwest Division champions, are 3-1.

Los Alamitos coach John Barnes, who pushed his county-leading career victory total to 276, was impressed by La Habra, which plays in the Freeway League.

"They could play just fine in the Sunset League," Barnes said. "That's a very, very good team."

But La Habra could not solve Los Al's defense, which had four sacks, two by senior linebacker Michael Collins, and a fourth-quarter interception by Josh Gasser.

"We run, we tackle and we pressure you," Barnes said. "And our defense plays very smart."

Nick Richardson led Los Alamitos with 184 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He scored on a 49-yard run in the third quarter and a 61-yard run in the fourth.

Los Alamitos scored on its second possession. Griffins receiver Shaquille Richardson took a quick pass from quarterback Dylan Cook at the right sideline, straight-armed a defender, then sprinted downfield for a 48-yard scoring play. That gave the Griffins a 7-0 lead.

A big special-teams play set up Los Alamitos' second touchdown. The Griffins' Robert Watson blocked a punt, Traveeon Bennett recovered at about the La Habra 20 and returned it to the 1. On the Griffins' next play, Joe Locher plunged across the goal line to make it 14-0.

Los Alamitos finally gave up some points in the second quarter when the Highlanders' Cody Clements threw to Quezada over the middle for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds to go. The kick was low, leaving Los Alamitos with a 14-6 lead at halftime.

Nick Richardson's 49-yard run with 8:30 left in the third quarter gave Los Alamitos a 21-6 lead.

In the fourth quarter, La Habra's Trevor Phillips recovered a fumbled punt return at the Los Alamitos 15, and two plays later Clements connected with receiver Chris Gonzales on a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-13.

Nick Richardson's 61-yard scoring run with 7:25 left made it 28-13.

Los Alamitos plays Narbonne of Harbor City on Thursday in its final nonleague game. La Habra plays host to San Clemente next Friday.