One way or another, Los Alamitos is your Southern Section Division 2 football champion. A team of overachievers made up of a roster of best friends combined chemistry, determination, and endurance to overcome all obstacles.
On Saturday night, in front of a packed crowd at San Clemente High, the Griffins recorded seven sacks and benefited from one of the strangest touchdowns scored by a lineman to beat the Tritons 33-20. This same Los Alamitos team lost to San Clemente 28-9 in a championship game on October 24.
“I’m not smart enough to express how I feel and how proud I am of these guys,” said Los Alamitos coach Ray Fenton, who hugged one player after another.
Los Alamitos (12-2) received a sensational performance from quarterback Colin Creason, who completed his final 13 passes and combined with the Griffins’ strong running back tandem of Kamden Tillis and Lenny Ibarra to generate enough offensive firepower to end San Clemente’s five-game winning streak and give the Griffins their first championship since 2002.
The game changed on consecutive plays late in the third quarter after San Clemente took a 20-17 lead on a 35-yard field goal by Ethan Miller. Creason threw a shovel pass to tight end Beckham Hofland inside the five-yard line, but he fumbled the ball. It came off the leg of a San Clemente defender and was recovered by offensive guard Luke Wehner, a rugby player who knew exactly what to do to score his first high school touchdown: run toward the goal line. He ran seven yards for a 24-20 lead.
“I was so scared,” Hofland said.
Wehner said: “I didn’t expect this at all.”
Then, Los Alamitos forced a San Clemente fumble on the next offensive play that was recovered by Hunter Eligon. Tillis scored a 22-yard touchdown for a 30-20 lead. The momentum and the game had shifted to Los Alamitos.
Individuals continued to come forward to provide great moments for the Griffins. Jackson Renger had two of his team’s seven sacks. Hofland had a 24-yard touchdown run and two field goals. Tillis ran for 141 yards. The versatile Ibarra had an interception, a 65-yard punt and rushed for 99 yards. And the Los Alamitos offensive line continued to create opportunities for Creason and the running backs.
The first half ended in a 17-17 deadlock when Hofland scored a touchdown for Los Alamitos with 39 seconds remaining. San Clemente had opened a 17-3 lead behind Jaxson Rex, who had a 25-yard catch, forced a fumble and made an interception. Colin Granite scored two touchdowns on short runs.
Los Alamitos’ fast-paced, no-huddle offense began to cause problems for the San Clemente defense. Tillis had 100 rushing yards at halftime while Creason had 156 passing yards.
Los Alamitos won the Southern Section Division 2 championship with a 33-20 victory over San Clemente.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Los Alamitos started the season 8-0, then lost to San Clemente and Mission Viejo in back-to-back Alpha League games. The Griffins banded together and never stopped believing in themselves. They are scheduled to face San Diego Section champion Cathedral Catholic in a state playoff game next weekend.
