S.D

Los Alamitos underclassmen laid down their helmets, one by one, on the five-yard line.

Griffins junior running back Kamden Tillis was already overcome by emotion, the reality of a 42-21 defeat to San Diego Cathedral in the Division 1-AA regional final sinking into Los Alamitos as the players said goodbye.

“I hate this moment,” said Los Alamitos coach Ray Fenton, who led his program to a 12-3 record and a Southern Section Division 2 title.

Tillis, along with his teammates, embraced each senior on the goal line. Hug after hug. Words of brotherhood overpowering the sensations of a crushing defeat.

“I loved them to death,” Tillis said of the Griffins’ seniors.

Los Alamitos defensive end Jackson Renger, who recorded a sack Friday night at Veterans Stadium and helped lead a defensive fury to defeat San Clemente a week ago, pounded on the back of junior linebacker Koa Marasco as he told Renger of how much he meant to him.

Los Alamitos receiver Ashton Gogue heads upfield after a reception against San Diego Cathedral on Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

“These are my best friends,” Renger said.

Belief is built into Los Alamitos’ players bones.

Losses to Mission Viejo and San Clemente threw a wrench in the route the Griffins took to get this far. On each step of its journey to the state semifinal, Fenton’s program rallied.

The Griffins held a 14-7 lead early in the game Friday, using touchdowns on a Colin Creason-to-Ashton Gogue 26-yard pass and a two-yard quarterback keeper to set a tone against the Dons.

But as the game reached halftime, the brunt of Cathedral’s larger offensive and defensive lines proved difficult to overcome.

Tillis stormed to a 26-yard carry to bring Los Alamitos to the nine-yard line with six seconds remaining in the first half.

Two attempts to punch the ball in fell short on incomplete passes before a 26-yard field-goal attempt went wide left. Instead of being up by three points, the Griffins and Dons entered halftime tied at 14.

San Diego Cathedral running back Honor Fa’alave-Johnson jumps over a fallen blocker to cross the goal line against Los Alamitos on Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

“We lost momentum,” Fenton said. “We had it going.”

Cathedral opened the half with two long touchdown passes from quarterback Brady Palmer to wide receiver Isaac Cook, who finished with 183 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and iced the game with their final connection, a nine-yard touchdown pass with 1:53 left on the clock. The Dons scored 28 unanswered points.

Tillis never gave up, however, telling himself not to think about the future, he said. Los Alamitos avoided a second-half goose egg thanks to a 45-yard touchdown run from the 5-foot-11 tailback.

For Creason, in a season where, as Fenton put it, many believed Los Alamitos would not finish with a winning record, the Griffins exceeded their own expectations by making it to a regional final.

“We already got what we wanted to accomplish, but, I mean, this year has been magical,” the Griffins senior signal-caller said.

And for Fenton, he’s thankful for the ride Los Alamitos brought him.

“When you don’t have those expectations and pressure on you to win every game, you get better every day,” Fenton said. “All of a sudden, I looked up and I go, ‘Oh my god, we’re in the finals.’ I honestly didn’t know we were in the finals. It was just another game for us to say we are in the finals.”