The Los Alamitos football team put on an offensive performance good enough to be associated with Bellflower St. John Bosco for three-quarters, but the Braves’ stormy attack was too much for the Griffins.
Hosts St. John Bosco had three running backs rush for more than 100 yards, racking up 588 yards on the ground and scoring eight touchdowns in a dominant 63-38 win to advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
Rayshon Luke led the Braves by 249 yards in 10 carries with three touchdowns. Jabari Bates added 194 yards in 16 carries with two touchdowns and Michael Hayes won 140 yards with one touchdown.
Both offenses were in one groove from the opening kick. On their first drive, the Griffins performed a 65-yard, nine-game drive that was capped by a 7-yard shovel pass from Malachi Nelson to DeAndre Moore for a touchdown to give Los Alamitos a 7-0 lead .
Bosco (10-1) scored the next three touchdowns of the first half, fueled by his explosive floor play.
Luke took his first touch of the game in the middle for a 68 yard touchdown and added another touchdown on his third carry, good for 43 yards to the end zone.
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Pierce Clarkson gave Luke’s legs a break and scored in a nine-yard quarterback run to give the Braves a 21-7 lead with 23 seconds remaining in the first period.
Los Alamitos (9-2) came back to the board with a 39-yard field goal from Tyler McLachlan early in the second quarter, but Bosco struck again when Bates shot through a hole in the line of scrimmage and 56 yards later six more added points to the Braves lead, making it a 28-10 lead at the 10:03 mark in the second quarter.
The Griffins wasted no time getting those points back when Nelson found his favorite target, Makai Lemon, on the right sideline for a 79-yard touchdown to reduce their deficit to 28:17 with 9:49 before halftime.
After Los Alamitos allowed Bosco to score on his first four possession of the ball, Los Alamitos forced the Braves into their first punt of the evening but failed to exploit a rare mistake made by the Bosco offensive.
Against a fourth and a 13 of the 32 Braves, Los Alamitos presented a trick in which Nelson looked for a receiver in the left corner of the end zone. Nelson’s pass was intercepted by RJ Jones and the Braves didn’t miss the opportunity to add points.
Eight games and 80 yards after interception, Katin Houser picked up a quarterback keeper for a touchdown to give the Braves a 35-17 lead.
Like much of the first half, Bosco and Los Alamitos exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter.
The Griffins forced the Braves to punt after first possession of the second half, then blocked it and reclaimed it deep in Bosco territory. Los Alamitos took advantage of this field position after a 25-yard pass from Nelson to Ethan O’Connor to take the lead with 35:24 Bosco at the start of the third game.
The Braves quickly responded with a 77-yard touchdown pass from Clarkson to Colin Chase, followed by another Los Alamitos touchdown with a 17-yard pass from Nelson to Lemon, leaving St. John Bosco with a 42-31 -Guide back.
The Braves added another roaring touchdown when Luke flew into the middle for an 80 yard score, giving Bosco a 49-31 lead with 3:35 in the third quarter.
Bates and Hayes each added a roaring touchdown in the fourth quarter to complete the win.
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