Los Alamitos 20 - Eagles 10
LONG BEACH, CA., November 21, 2003 – Joshua Jones rushed 30 times for 190 yards and Jimmy Barnes rushed for two one-yard touchdowns to lead the Los Alamitos Griffins to a 20-10 victory over Santa Margarita before a crowd of 4,000 at Long Beach Wilson High School. The loss dropped the Eagles record to 7-4 and marked the second consecutive year they were ousted in the first round of the CIF-SS Division I playoffs by a Sunset League team.
Los Al (10-1) came into the game ranked 11th in the nation by USA Today and used their outstanding team speed on defense to limit the Eagles to only 17 yards and no first downs on their first three possessions. After forcing punts on the first two Griffin drives an Eagle fumble at their own 42 with 2:08 left in the quarter directly led to the first of Barnes touchdown runs. The score was set up by a 32-yard completion from Barnes to standout wide receiver Jeremy Childs and a punishing nine-yard run by Jones. The visitors promptly responded as the Eagles drove 74 yards on their next possession highlighted by a 51-yard completion from sophomore quarterback Jon Daniels to Mark Johnson (4 receptions for 93 yards). The drive stalled inside the five, but not until two apparent touchdown runs were ruled short of the goalline by the referees. Rather than a 7-7 game, the Eagles had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Mike Fowle at the 8:19 mark to make it 7-3.
On the Griffin’s subsequent drive they managed to use an effective mix of runs and passes to bring the ball to the Santa Margarita 13, but with 4:02 left in the half Barnes pass was intercepted by Ryan Nienhuis in the endzone thwarting the Los Al scoring opportunity. The Eagles drove to the Griffin 48 with the help of an 18-yard run by Russell Hoeflich (13 carries for 82 yards), but had to punt after an untimely sack and incompletion. Starting at their own 20 and with 2:43 left and only one timeout the Griffins managed five first downs and saw Brooks Rossman kick a 25-yard field goal at the gun to give Los Al a 10-3 lead.
In the third quarter the Griffins went on a 13-play, 62-yard drive mostly on the legs of Jones to go up 17-3 on Barnes second touchdown run at the 5:42 mark. The Eagles needed a response and they didn’t waste any time as they went 80 yards on 10 plays capped by a seven-yard run by Hoeflich to close the gap to 17-10 with 1:10 left in the quarter. The drive showcased the skills of quarterback Michael Angelo as the senior completed three of three passes for 31 yards and rushed for another nine, while Hoeflich, making his first varsity start, also pitched in 31 tough yards of his own.
A 32-yard field goal by Rossman at the 8:35 point of the fourth quarter increased the host’s lead to 20-10. The Eagles could not manage a first down on their next two possessions, but they kept fighting and advanced to the Griffin 32 on their last drive before turning it over on downs and watching Los Al run out the clock.
The final statistics showed that the Eagles more than held their own against their nationally ranked opponent. Although outgained 344-283 the Eagles had a higher yards per play average (6.3 to 5.8) and played well enough overall to win. Los Al’s vaunted passing attack was held to a mere 118 yards and they managed only four more first downs (17-13) on the night. Where the Griffins had their largest advantage was in time of possession as they converted four of their first six third down situations and one very critical fourth down situation in the second and their quarters to post a nearly six minute edge in time of possession. Jack Meehan once again spearheaded the Eagle defensive effort as the senior standout collected 13 tackles. It was his 20th career game with at least 10 tackles and his 13th consecutive. He finished his career as the Eagle leader with 356 tackles. Senior linebacker Thomas Ramirez registered 14 tackles of his own while defensive end Jeff Jones and defensive back Mark Restelli chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.
| Los Alamitos | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
LOS – Barnes 1 run (kick good)
SM – Fowle 22 FG
LOS – Rossman 25 FG
LOS – Barnes 1 run (kick good)
SM – Hoeflich 7 run (kick good)
LOS – Rossman 32 FG
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: SM - Hoeflich 13-82; LOS - Jones 30-190
Passing: –
Receiving: SM - Johnson 4-93
By Adrian Peters
Sports Information Director
Los Alamitos Advances
Division I: Jones Runs For 186 Yards To Power Griffins
LONG BEACH – The Los Alamitos High football team went out on Friday night and began the playoffs by sending a message to the rest of Division I.
The championship still runs through the Griffins.
Junior quarterback Jimmy Barnes scored two short touchdowns and senior running back Joshua Jones ran for 186 yards on 29 carries as Los Alamitos began defense of its CIF Southern Section Division I title by beating Santa Margarita 20-10 in a first-round game at Wilson High.
"I'm very happy with the way we played tonight," Los Alamitos coach John Barnes said. "We felt when we looked at the playoff bracket, that we had the toughest draw. Santa Margarita is one good football team and they play in an very tough league.
"But we came out and played great defense and we really ran the ball well. The playoffs are all about playing smart and not making mistakes and tonight, we did that."
With the win, the Griffins (11-1) advance to the second round next Friday, when they will play Wilson, a 30-27 winner over Redlands East Valley.
Los Alamitos began the game by running behind its powerful offensive line and giving the ball to Jones.
The strategy finally paid off when the Griffins moved the ball down to the Eagles' 1-yard line, where Barnes took it in himself on a quarterback sneak to give them a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Santa Margarita (7-4) came back, however, in the second quarter to cut that lead to 7-3 after junior kicker Mike Fowle booted a 22-yard field goal with 8:13 remaining before halftime.
The Griffins answered with a 23-yard field goal from Brooks Rossman to take a 10-3 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Griffins simply wore the Eagles down. They began the third quarter by going on a 13-play, 62-yard drive that took six minutes off the clock and was culminated on another Barnes 1-yard touchdown run.
And even though Santa Margarita came back on its next possession to score a touchdown as Russell Hoeflich got in on a 7-yard run, it was clear that its defense had no answer for Jones.
Jones, who began the season as a linebacker, got the ball play after play, running through Eagle defenders until Los Alamitos got to the Santa Margarita 15-yard line, where Rossman extended the Griffins' lead to 20-10 when he kicked a 32-yard field goal with 8:35 left in the game.
Senior defensive back Daniel Dykes then sealed the win after he intercepted a Michael Angelo pass with 3:20 left in the fourth quarter.
"We're not a finesse team," Jones said. "Maybe last year, we threw the ball a little more but that's because we had the personnel to do it. This year, we're better at running the ball and you saw tonight how our offensive line can take over games.
"There was some pressure on us coming into tonight's game, we're the defending champs and we're everybody's Super Bowl. But if we play like we did tonight, we're going to be tough to beat."
By Ben Villa
Saturday, November 22, 2003
Long Beach Press-Telegram - B4
