Marina loses to Los Alamitos 64-0 in a Sunset League football game
Marina High’s football team is back on another losing streak in the Sunset League.
A year after ending a 60-game skid in league, the Vikings have dropped their first two in league this season. While they were in last week’s game, the Vikings lost Thursday’s contest right away on the road.
Los Alamitos scored 36 first-quarter points, and it crushed Marina 64-0 at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.
The Griffins (4-3, 2-0 in league) took care of the Vikings, setting up a possible first-place showdown with defending league champion Edison next week at Huntington Beach High. The Chargers can improve to 2-0 in league with a win at Newport Harbor on Friday.
Los Alamitos turned in a second straight dominant performance. The Griffins topped last week’s 49-0 shutout at Newport Harbor by scoring 57 points in the first half.
The Griffins must have wanted to reach 50 points by halftime, as Los Alamitos celebrated its 50th anniversary during the break.
“It was our 50th homecoming. That’s special,” Los Alamitos coach Ray Fenton said. “Only one team gets to do that, and it happens to be this team. I think they took it serious.”
The hosts scored every which way in the first half, on Grant Caraway touchdown passes of 58, 38, 70, 25 and 14 yards, on Keanu Norman touchdown runs of one and six yards, on Trevion Ballard’s 72-yard kick return, and on a safety.
Marina coach Jeff Turley described his team’s first half as “horrific.” The Vikings lost to Los Alamitos for the 20th consecutive year.
“That’s why we’re not in the Sunset anymore,” Turley said.
The Vikings (3-4, 0-2) have three games left in their final season in the Sunset League. After 54 years in the league, Marina is heading to the new eight-team Golden West Conference next season.
The Vikings won’t have to see the Griffins anymore. They couldn’t stop their quarterback.
Caraway was near perfect through two quarters, completing 10 of 13 passes for 301 yards and five touchdowns. Receivers dropped two of the senior’s passes.
Half of Caraway’s first-half completions went for touchdowns. His first attempt, coming on the first play from scrimmage, was a bubble screen to the right, and Christian Allen did the rest. Allen took it up field for a 58-yard touchdown.
Allen, who finished with four receptions for 100 yards, caught his second touchdown with 26 seconds left before halftime. He and the rest of the offensive starters only played in the first half, and they produced a lot.
The Griffins recorded 363 yards in the first half, while allowing Marina 15 passing yards and 18 rushing yards. The Vikings had 12 plays in the first half go for losses.
One of the negative plays gave Los Alamitos two points. Backed up inside its five-yard line, Marina’s long snapper hiked the ball over the punter’s head and out of the end zone for a safety midway through the first quarter.
With quarterback Ian Green unable to do anything, Marina turned to backup Vishan Few with less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter. The senior ripped a 37-yard run, the biggest play on the night for the Vikings.
Other than that, very few of Marina’s plays went for positive yards.
The Griffins limited Few to 61 passing yards and they picked him off three times. Noah Avinger returned one seven yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
The Griffins look ready for Edison, which has claimed undefeated league titles the past two years. Los Alamitos is the last team to beat the Chargers, pulling it off in the league finale three years ago to finish in first.
Fenton wasn’t the coach of Los Alamitos in 2014, as he was in his second year of a three-year stint at Fountain Valley. He’s in his second year at the helm of Los Alamitos, and Fenton has the kind of team that can help him beat Edison for the first time in league.
“They’re the defending CIF champs, and I think they’re back to living up to their preseason ranking,” Fenton said of the Chargers, who went into the year ranked No. 1 in Division 2. “I think it’s going to be a great game. Like last year at halftime, we were down by one. It was 10-9, and they scored one touchdown in the second half [to win 17-9]. I’m expecting a game like that, where it’s going to be a fight down to the wire. I’m worried because the last two games we’ve only played a half. We got to make sure we’re ready physically to play a full game against a team like that who is very physical.”
Los Alamitos 64, Marina 0
Marina…………….0 0 0 0 — 0
Los Alamitos ….36 21 7 0 — 64
FIRST QUARTER
LA – Allen 58 pass from Caraway (Valenzuela kick), 11:41.
LA – Huey 38 pass from Caraway (Valenzuela kick), 7:49.
LA – Marina snapped the ball out of the end zone for a safety, 6:04.
LA – Ballard 72 kick return (kick failed), 5:52.
LA – Centers 70 pass from Caraway (Valenzuela kick), 3:51.
LA – Norman 1 run (Valenzuela kick), :02.
SECOND QUARTER
LA – Ruiz 25 pass from Caraway (Valenzuela kick), 9:48.
LA – Norman 6 run (Valenzuela kick), 6:18.
LA – Allen 14 pass from Caraway (Valenzuela kick), :26.
THIRD QUARTER
LA – Avinger 7 INT return (Valenzuela kick), 2:32.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
M – Few, 5-24.
LA – Norman, 8-59, 2 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
M – Few, 8-20-3, 61.
LA – Caraway, 10-13-0, 301, 5 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
M – Church, 1-18.
LA – Allen, 4-100, 2 TDs.
Twitter: @ByDCP
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