Los Alamitos football runs over San Juan Hills to reach CIF-SS semifinals

LONG BEACH – Los Alamitos offensive lineman Braiden McKenna likes blocking for his teammate Lenny Ibarra.

“He’s crazy,” McKenna said. “That guy’s so good, on offense and defense.”

The crazy guy scored four touchdowns, rushed for 116 yards on 13 carries, had 33 receiving yards on three receptions and was in on a bunch of tackles Friday as Los Alamitos defeated San Juan Hills 35-10 in a CIF Southern Section Division 2 football quarterfinal playoff game at rainy Veterans Stadium.

The Griffins (10-2) will play Murrieta Valley (9-3) at Murrieta Valley High in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 21. Murrieta Valley beat Rancho Cucamonga 26-6 in the quarterfinals.

San Juan Hills finishes the season 2-10. The Stallions had to forfeit seven wins for using an ineligible player in those games.

Ibarra, a senior running back and linebacker, scored on runs of 4, 21, 22 and 38 yards to give him 17 rushing touchdowns this season. He also has six receiving touchdowns. Ibarra went into the game as the Griffins’ leading tackler, with 99 tackles.

Los Alamitos junior running back Kamden Tillis also had a productive game. Tillis rushed for 112 yards on 17 carries.

This game had only four penalties, two on San Juan Hills (one was declined and two on Los Alamitos. One of the Griffins’ penalties was an intentional delay of game as they let the clock run in the final minute of the game.

Los Alamitos took the opening kickoff and quickly motored downfield. The Griffins covered 90 yards on 10 plays, with Ibarra taking the direct snap before polling through a hole in the left side of the line for a 7-0 lead.

Kyle Donahue kicked a 34-yard field goal for San Juan Hills to make it 7-3 with 9:06 to go in the second quarter. Donahue kicked a 23-yard field goal in the final seconds of the Stallions’ 28-27 win over Downey in last week’s first round.

Ibarra’s second touchdown run followed. Ibarra ran around the right end, making a quick and sudden turn downfield before showcasing his acceleration skills for a 21-yard scoring run and a 14-3 lead with 5:56 remaining in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff the Griffins’ Koa Marasco, who was in on many tackles all night, recovered a San Juan Hills fumble at the Stallions’ 34-yard line. Ibarra scored on a 22-yard run on which he was hit twice, stayed on his feet and lunged over the goal line for a 21-3 lead, which would be the halftime score.

McKenna, who plays guard, was impressed by the crispness of his team’s offense and the offensive line’s contribution to that.

“It’s wet so we’re not going to throw that much,” he said. “We scored like three times right off the bat, the ‘o-line’ did pretty well.”

Los Alamitos quarterback Colin Creason scored on a 23-yard run early in the third quarter for a 28-3 lead. San Juan Hills got a touchdown on a 6-yard run by running back Elijah Ayala to make it 28-10.

Ibarra displayed his speed on a 38-yard touchdown run to stretch the Griffins advantage to 35-10 late in the third quarter.

“We do our job,” McKenna said of his offensive line teammates. “But they make stuff happen. All we’ve got to do is get in the way of the defenders and Kam and Lenny will make something happen.”

San Juan Hills senior quarterback Timmy Herr completed 32 of 36 passes for 271 yards.

The Stallions had averaged 37 points a game going into Friday’s quarterfinal.