Los Amigos football undefeated as Sigma League approaches
GARDEN GROVE — Nobody’s yet had an answer for Los Amigos’ punishing run game, which amassed 300-plus yards and six touchdowns — three by quarterback Jayvin Le — while fueling another blowout victory Thursday night, its fourth this season.
Isaac Galindo totaled 189 yards and a touchdown, Adrian Ramirez scored three times on wildcat plays, and a vigorous defense mostly dominated visiting Upland Western Christian in a 44-12 romp at Garden Grove High School.
The Lobos, who scored on all but one possession, pushed their record to 5-0 for the first time in 30 years and head into the new Sigma League brimming with confidence.
“Five-and-oh, dude. Wasn’t perfect, but my boys played hard, and that is something we hang our hat on ...,” said fourth-year head coach Romel Guess, who has won 18 of his last 25 games and taken Los Amigos to successive CIF Southern Section playoff berths after a six-year absence. “This team is probably the most talented team I’ve had since I came back, so none of this stuff surprises me.”
Galindo, a punishing runner despite his slight frame, followed last week’s outing of 200-plus yards at La Puente Nogales with 163 yards on 16 carries — starting with a 54-yard gain on Los Amigos’ second play to set up Le’s first touchdown — and took a screen pass 26 yards on third down a play before Ramirez’s first touchdown on the following drive.
Ramirez ran for 56 yards, Le for 55, and Raul Cruz for 48 before an ankle injury ended his night near the end of the first half, and the Lobos totaled a season-best 327 rushing yards. They limited Western Christian to 27 yards on the ground (21 on a Carter Doolittle scramble), forced two fumbles (returning one for a touchdown) and held their fifth foe to 14 or fewer points.
It’s got them thinking big.
“We just get in there and we dominate,” said Galindo, who has gained 631 yards this year with 11 touchdowns. “We’re a senior-heavy team, and I know that we all dreamed about an undefeated season and going to CIF and, eventually, a state title shot. That’s what we’ve dreamed, our seniors, and that’s what fuels us.”
They were on top of the Lancers from the start, scoring on their first two drives, then going on a nearly seven-minute march — Galindo cutting inside on the 16-yard finish — after Abraham Solorio recovered a second-quarter fumble just inside the Los Amigos 20.
Western Christian (2-2), aided by Doolittle’s run, a 26-yard, over-the-top throw to Jonah Baldivia, and a defensive-holding flag, ended the shutout eight-tenths of a second before halftime after a quick 70-yard drive.
It was a rout by the start of the fourth quarter, with successive three-and-out stands leading to 6-yard Le touchdowns, the latter immediately followed by Kevin Centeno’s 23-yard score on a fumbled kickoff return. Le’s two-point conversion run — the only converted extra-point attempt of the evening — made it 38-6. Each added another score, Los Amigos on a Ramirez run.
Next up: the Lobos’ Sigma League debut at Ocean View (1-4). They’re a clear title favorite, with a significantly higher Calpreps rating than the other five teams. That 1994 group headed to the playoffs at 9-1 after a 7-0 start.
“We’re very confident, but we’re not going to get complacent with being 5-0,” Le said. “We’re going to put in the work and take every opponent very seriously. We’re confident we can go 10-0 this year.”
And then?
“I think we’re capable of state,” he added.
Nonleague
Los Amigos 44, Western Christian 12
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Western Christian 0 - 6 - 0 - 6 — 12
Los Amigos 12 - 6 - 6 - 20 — 44
FIRST QUARTER
LA — Le 9 run (kick failed), 9:34.
LA — Ramirez 5 run (kick blocked), 3:54.
SECOND QUARTER
LA — Galindo 16 run (pass failed), 2:49.
WC — Maningo 5 pass from Doolittle (kick failed), 0:00.8.
THIRD QUARTER
LA — Le 6 run (kick failed), 9:14.
FOURTH QUARTER
LA — Le 6 run (pass failed), 11:02.
LA — Centeno 23 fumble return (Le run), 10:47.
WC — Dunham 39 pass from Doolittle (kick blocked), 9:02.
LA — Ramirez 8 run (kick blocked), 5:24.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
WC — Ramirez, 12-14.
LA — Galindo, 16-163, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
WC — Doolittle, 15-31-0, 145, 2 TDs.
LA — Le, 3-7-0, 56.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
WC — Baldivia, 7-59.
LA — Flores, 2-30.
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