Los Alamitos jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, as the Griffins handed Huntington Beach a 49-14 loss in a Sunset League football game on Friday at Huntington Beach High. The win moved the Griffins to 8-1 and 4-0 in league play. They clinched at least a share of the league title and can take the championship outright with a win over Newport Harbor (3-6) on Friday. Los Alamitos essentially put the game away early in the second quarter after Deandre Moore ran for an eight-yard touchdown that gave the Griffins a 21-0 lead.
On the Oilers’ ensuing possession, Makai Lemon intercepted a pass on the first play and the Griffins re-took possession at their own 35 yard line. Los Al was eventually forced to punt, but the Oilers botched the reception and the Griffins recovered the ball at the Huntington Beach 12.
One play later, Nygel Osborne ran for a 12-yard touchdown and the Griffins expanded their lead to 28-0. Osborne finished the night with 129 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Jeremiah Jimenez added 76 yards on six carries and the Griffins complied 205 total rushing yards.
Quarterback Malachi Nelson threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns on 12 for 18 passing. Lemon had 105 yards receiving, with touchdown catches of 61 and 22 yards. Lemon’s 61-yard touchdown came on a two-play drive, late in the second quarter and extended the Griffins’ lead to 35-0.
Huntington Beach was able to score a touchdown with 25 seconds left in the half to cut the lead to 35-7 at the break, but the Griffin defense kept them in check for the night. Lemon finished the night on defense with two interceptions and Isaiah Dorsey had another interception that he returned for a touchdown. Tyler Mclachlan and Brian Jurado each had two sacks as the defense kept plenty of pressure on the Oiler quarterback.
Newport Harbor is 2-2 in league play and played a strong pre-league schedule with losses to teams such as Trabuco Hills and Yorba Linda. The Griffins will host the Sailors on Friday at 7 p.m. at Westminster High.
