Crescenta Valley Falters in Second Half, Falls to Los Alamitos, 28-10

Halfway to a second consecutive upset, Crescenta Valley High finally ran out of steam, losing to unbeaten Los Alamitos, 28-10, in a Division II football semifinal Saturday night at Veteran’s Stadium in Long Beach.

The Falcons (11-2), who last week stunned previously undefeated Hart, 13-7, took a 10-7 lead into intermission against Los Alamitos (13-0).

But in the second half, Crescenta Valley fell victim to Los Alamitos quarterback Tim Carey, who has signed to play at Stanford next season.

Carey guided the Griffins on second-half scoring drives of 56 and 84 yards and helped extend Los Alamitos’ Southern Section-leading winning streak to 20 games.

In the game, Carey completed 19 of 29 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown.

Crescenta Valley quarterback David Fielder was sacked five times by an aggressive Los Alamitos defense. When he was standing, he completed only three of 13 passes for 29 yards. He threw two interceptions.

“They had good pop on the line of scrimmage,� Crescenta Valley Coach Jim Beckenhauer said. “And when we fell behind we had a hard time throwing the ball. That’s not really our cup of tea.�

Los Alamitos marched 56 yards to take a 14-10 lead with 5:43 left in the third quarter, and drove 84 yards for a score two possessions later. The second drive was aided by a 42-yard completion the Crescenta Valley players and coaches felt should have been nullified because of offensive pass interference.

“That call was the turning point of the football game,� Beckenhauer said. “We were in the ballgame until then.�

Los Alamitos, ranked second by The Times, pounded the final nail into Crescenta Valley’s coffin by intercepting a Fielder pass at the Falcon 10 with 4 minutes 4 seconds to play. The Griffins scored a touchdown four plays later.

Crescenta Valley’s offense was led by Erik LaCom, who rushed for 110 yards in eight carries, including an 87-yard touchdown run that gave the Falcons a 10-7 lead late in the second quarter.

Crescenta Valley senior linebacker Paul Lopez sat alone on the empty field after the game and reflected on the season. “We came together as a team,� he said. “This has been our best year since 1976 (when the Falcons started 13-0). You can’t take anything away from what we’ve done.�

Crescenta Valley got a break on the first play when Los Alamitos’ Cory Barnett fumbled the kickoff and Crescenta Valley’s Brett Miller recovered at the Griffin 20. Crescenta Valley was unable to move the ball, but Fielder kicked a 32-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead.

Los Alamitos took the lead on a drive that covered 80 yards in 10 plays, the last being a two-yard scoring run by Marchant Wright.

The Falcons regained the lead when LaCom broke through the defense, which had nine players lined up within three yards of the line of scrimmage.