Los Alamitos rolls past Huntington Beach to Sunset League crown

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Oct. 26, 2017 11:15 PM PT

Reporting from Long Beach — Huntington Beach High’s football team began the Sunset League with a 63-point loss to Edison.

At that point, Oilers coach Brett Brown carved out a path to the playoffs. He referred to the top two teams in the league — Edison and Los Alamitos — as “Trinity League-type opponents.”

The Oilers had to win the other three games in league to earn a trip back to the CIF Southern Section Division 7 playoffs. The result of Thursday night’s contest against the Griffins locked that in as the one scenario that could see Huntington Beach get in.

Keanu Norman scored four touchdowns while producing 149 yards of total offense, and host Los Alamitos clinched at least a share of the Sunset League title with a 35-0 win over Huntington Beach at Veterans Stadium.

Los Alamitos (6-3, 4-0 in league) earned its third league title since 2010. It is the team’s first since 2014.

“We put a lot of hard work into it, and it’s paying off,” said Norman, who rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns.

The calling card for Los Alamitos has been its defense. The Griffins, ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 poll, posted their third shutout in four league games. They also shut out Edison in the second half last week, erasing a 16-3 halftime deficit to win 24-16.

“It feels amazing,” Griffins middle linebacker Issaiah Johnson said of winning a league title. “To win it as a senior, it means a lot to me.”

Huntington Beach (3-6, 2-2) was unable to get anything going in the passing game. The Griffins were in the backfield all night, only allowing a trio of Huntington Beach quarterbacks to complete two of 20 passes.

Arick McLawyer completed one of nine passes for nine yards. He ran eight times for 40 yards, losing a fumble on a ferocious hit in the open field. The fumble was recovered by Los Alamitos’ Cameron Shead.

McLawyer was benched for Andrew Abarca in the second half with his team trailing 21-0. The move was motivated by preservation, as the Oilers have a must-win home game against Newport Harbor (0-8, 0-3) to finish the regular season on Nov. 3.

“I don’t think it was any one shot,” Brown said of McLawyer being pulled. “He got hit a couple, three times right before the half. He kind of lowered his pads into somebody. I think he’ll be all right, so we’ll see.”

The Oilers managed just one first down in the first half, which came on the penultimate play via an 11-yard run by Caleb Webb.

Coming into the game, Huntington Beach was 3-0 in games that Webb recorded an interception. He picked one up in the second quarter, but the Oilers could not get anything going on offense.

Other than that, Griffins quarterback Grant Caraway was spectacular. He got rid of the ball quickly, and when he led his receivers, he did so with enough air under the ball for his receivers to run underneath the pass.

Caraway threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Zach Ruiz had 85 receiving yards and a touchdown. Norman caught the other score.

A win next week against Newport Harbor would still likely give the Oilers third place. Fountain Valley (6-2, 2-1) closes out the regular season with games against Edison and Los Alamitos.

“I think Newport is a lot better than [its] record, so it will be a tough game for us,” Brown said. “We’re in the playoffs this week, really, is what it is. Win and we keep playing. That’s what these guys have to understand.”

Los Alamitos 35, Huntington Beach 0

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Huntington Beach 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 — 0

Los Alamitos 14 – 7 – 14 – 0 — 35

FIRST QUARTER

LA — Ruiz 28 pass from Caraway (Valenzuela kick), 5:19.

LA — Norman 26 pass from Caraway (Valenzuela kick), 1:23.

SECOND QUARTER

LA — Norman 2 run (Valenzuela kick), 4:25.

THIRD QUARTER

LA — Norman 3 run (Valenzuela kick), 3:20.

LA — Norman 3 run (Valenzuela kick), 0:00.