LOS ALAMITOS 20, EAGLES 10 (LONG BEACH, Nov. 21, 2003) – Joshua Jones rushed 30 times for 190 yards and Jimmy Barnes rushed for two one-yard touchdowns to lead the Los Alamitos Griffins to a 20-10 victory over Santa Margarita before a crowd of 4,000 at Long Beach Wilson High School. The loss dropped the Eagles record to 7-4 and marked the second consecutive year they were ousted in the first round of the CIF-SS Division I playoffs by a Sunset League team.

Los Al (10-1) came into the game ranked 11th in the nation by USA Today and used their outstanding team speed on defense to limit the Eagles to only 17 yards and no first downs on their first three possessions. After forcing punts on the first two Griffin drives an Eagle fumble at their own 42 with 2:08 left in the quarter directly led to the first of Barnes touchdown runs. The score was set up by a 32-yard completion from Barnes to standout wide receiver Jeremy Childs and a punishing nine-yard run by Jones. The visitors promptly responded as the Eagles drove 74 yards on their next possession highlighted by a 51-yard completion from sophomore quarterback Jon Daniels to Mark Johnson (4 receptions for 93 yards). The drive stalled inside the five, but not until two apparent touchdown runs were ruled short of the goalline by the referees. Rather than a 7-7 game, the Eagles had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Mike Fowle at the 8:19 mark to make it 7-3.

On the Griffin’s subsequent drive they managed to use an effective mix of runs and passes to bring the ball to the Santa Margarita 13, but with 4:02 left in the half Barnes pass was intercepted by Ryan Nienhuis in the endzone thwarting the Los Al scoring opportunity. The Eagles drove to the Griffin 48 with the help of an 18-yard run by Russell Hoeflich (13 carries for 82 yards), but had to punt after an untimely sack and incompletion. Starting at their own 20 and with 2:43 left and only one timeout the Griffins managed five first downs and saw Brooks Rossman kick a 25-yard field goal at the gun to give Los Al a 10-3 lead.

In the third quarter the Griffins went on a 13-play, 62-yard drive mostly on the legs of Jones to go up 17-3 on Barnes second touchdown run at the 5:42 mark. The Eagles needed a response and they didn’t waste any time as they went 80 yards on 10 plays capped by a seven-yard run by Hoeflich to close the gap to 17-10 with 1:10 left in the quarter. The drive showcased the skills of quarterback Michael Angelo as the senior completed three of three passes for 31 yards and rushed for another nine, while Hoeflich, making his first varsity start, also pitched in 31 tough yards of his own.

A 32-yard field goal by Rossman at the 8:35 point of the fourth quarter increased the host’s lead to 20-10. The Eagles could not manage a first down on their next two possessions, but they kept fighting and advanced to the Griffin 32 on their last drive before turning it over on downs and watching Los Al run out the clock.

The final statistics showed that the Eagles more than held their own against their nationally ranked opponent. Although outgained 344-283 the Eagles had a higher yards per play average (6.3 to 5.8) and played well enough overall to win. Los Al’s vaunted passing attack was held to a mere 118 yards and they managed only four more first downs (17-13) on the night. Where the Griffins had their largest advantage was in time of possession as they converted four of their first six third down situations and one very critical fourth down situation in the second and their quarters to post a nearly six minute edge in time of possession. Jack Meehan once again spearheaded the Eagle defensive effort as the senior standout collected 13 tackles. It was his 20th career game with at least 10 tackles and his 13th consecutive. He finished his career as the Eagle leader with 356 tackles. Senior linebacker Thomas Ramirez registered 14 tackles of his own while defensive end Jeff Jones and defensive back Mark Restelli chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.