One by one, Los Alamitos juniors laid down their helmets on the five-yard line.
Griffins junior running back Camden Tillis was already overcome with emotion, the reality of a 42-21 loss to San Diego Cathedral in the Division 1-AA regional final sinking into Los Alamitos as the players said their goodbyes.
“I hate this moment,” said Los Alamitos coach Ray Fenton, who led his program to a 12-3 record and the Division 2 South title.
Tillis joined his teammates in hugging each senior on the goal line. Hug after hug. The words of brotherhood overpowered the feeling of crushing defeat.
“I loved them to death,” Tillis said of the Griffins’ senior players.
Los Alamitos defenseman Jackson Renger, who recorded a goal Friday night at Veterans Stadium and helped lead the defensive fury in a win over San Clemente a week ago, hit junior midfielder Koa Marasco on the back as he told Renger how much he means to him.
Los Alamitos wide receiver Ashton Gogue heads into the backfield after receiving against Cathedral San Diego on Friday night.
(Craig Weston)
“These are my best friends,” Renger said.
Faith is ingrained in the bones of Los Alamitos players.
Defeats to Mission Viejo and San Clemente changed the path the Griffins had taken to get this far. Every step of the way to the state semifinals, Fenton's program grew stronger.
The Griffins led 14-7 early in Friday's game, using Colin Creason's 26-yard to Ashton Gogue touchdown pass and a two-yard quarterback keeper to set the tone against the Dons.
But as the game went to halftime, the brunt of Cathedral's larger offensive and defensive lines proved difficult to overcome.
Tillis rushed for a 26-yard carry to bring Los Alamitos to the nine-yard line with six seconds left in the first half.
Two field goal attempts failed due to incomplete passes before a 26-yard field goal attempt went wide left. Instead of going up by three points, the Griffins and Dons went into halftime tied at 14.
San Diego Cathedral running back Honor Faalawe-Johnson leaps over a fallen blocker and crosses the goal line against Los Alamitos on Friday night.
(Craig Weston)
“We lost momentum,” Fenton said. “We had it.”
Cathedral opened the half with two long touchdown passes from quarterback Brady Palmer to receiver Isaac Cook, who finished with 183 yards receiving and three touchdowns and iced the game with his final connection, a nine-yard touchdown pass with 1:53 left. The Dons scored 28 unanswered points.
But Tillis never gave up, telling himself not to think about the future, he said. Los Alamitos avoided a goose egg in the second half thanks to a 45-yard touchdown run from the 5-foot-11 tailback.
As for Creason, in a season when, as Fenton put it, many believed Los Alamitos would not finish with a winning record, the Griffins exceeded their own expectations by reaching the regional finals.
“We've already accomplished what we wanted to do, but I mean, this year has been magical,” the Griffins' senior signal caller said.
As for Fenton, he's grateful for the trip Los Alamitos gave him.
“When you don't have that expectation and pressure to win every game, you get better every day,” Fenton said. “Suddenly I looked up and said, 'Oh my God, we're in the final.' To be honest, I didn't know we made it to the finals. For us it was just another game to say we're in the finals.”
