Lagarde's Passing Helps Los Alamitos Put Away Fountain Valley, 28-0

After a scoreless first quarter dominated by defensive, Los Alamitos High's football team slowly took control of its game against Sunset League rival Fountain Valley and pounded its way to a 28-0 victory Thursday night at Long Beach's Veteran Stadium.

The Griffins used their ground game to control the ball, but it was senior quarterback Dylan Lagarde who provided the big highlights with three touchdown passes. Lagarde hooked up with senior receiver Kyle Roberts for two touchdowns late in the second quarter that gave Los Alamitos a 21-0 lead at halftime.

The first connection was a 30-yard touchdown pass on a quick slant down the middle that capped a nine-play drive and gave the Griffins a 14-0 lead with 4:43 left in the second quarter. After forcing a punt and getting the ball back at their own 37-yard line with 2:43 left, senior running back Cody Paul carried the ball 34 yards to the Barons' 23-yard line. Three plays later, Lagarde found Roberts again from 10 yards and the Griffins jumped to a 21-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Los Alamitos' defense kept an opponent out of the end zone for the second consecutive week. “Our defense played great," coach John Barnes said. "They played great last week too.”

Fountain Valley’s only serious scoring threat in the first half came when the Barons moved the ball to the Griffins' 37-yard line early in the second quarter thanks to a chop-block penalty against Los Alamitos and a 10-yard run by Luke Togafau. However, Los Alamitos' defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs.

Fountain Valley coach John Shipp said his team missed too many opportunities to control the ball on offense and get the Griffins' offense off the field. But he said he saw plenty of positives, despite the loss. “It doesn’t show it on the scoreboard but we did get better tonight and we just need to continue to get better,” he said.

Los Alamitos (5-2 overall, 1-1 in league) broke a scoreless tie on the first play of the second quarter, after a 12-play, 76-yard drive. Cody Paul finally punched the ball in from 11 yards for a 7-0 lead. Paul also had a 19-yard run on the drive and senior receiver Kendall Holmes had a 17-yard run on an end-around play.

Barnes said it seemed as if his team needed the first quarter to “shake off the cobwebs,” left from last week’s tough loss to Edison, but he was happy with the way his team played.

Paul finished with 182 yards rushing and Holmes added 112. Lagarde finished with 98 yards passing, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to Josh Caiquo early in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

Fountain Valley (3-4, 0-2) threatened to spoil the shutout late in the third quarter after quarterback Chris d’Entremont hit sophomore receiver Jacob Church with a 44-yard pass play to the Griffins' 29-yard line. A few plays later, the Barons were at the eight, but they eventually turned the ball over on downs rather than settle for a field goal attempt.

The Barons look to get back on the winning track with a game against Marina on Friday, Oct. 28, at Huntington Beach High. The same evening, Los Alamitos travels to Newport Harbor to take on a steadily improving Sailors squad.