One week after a record-setting win over a weak Long Beach Wilson team, reality— in the form of a strong Orange Lutheran squad— gave Los Al's football team a wake-up headslap—but the Griffins' response bodes well for their football future.
    The Lancers downed Los Al 38-27 before a regional cable television audience Thursday night, but for the Griffins there were many things that almost make the loss seem like a victory.
    After getting behind 21-0 in the first half via poor punting, poor offensive line blocking, and poor defensive tackling—rarely a beneficial combination— the Griffins responded with four second half touchdowns against a very tough Orange Lutheran defense as Los Al’s sophomore quarterback Clark Evans who showed he can take a hit and keep on clicking, as he rushed for 111 yards in the second half (some on scrambles, others on straight quarterback draws and a few options) and completed 8 of 14 passes for 142 yards and three second half TDs, much of the time in the face of a furious Lancer rush.
    Helping spark the second half surge was tight end Nick Brucculeri who made three great catches on the first TD drive. Evans also completed two TD passes to Logan Flagg, the last cutting the Lutheran lead to 11 points with just over a minute remaining. The Griffins recovered an onside kick and almost made things interesting but Evans' desperation pass was intercepted and that was it for Los Al. Nonetheless, the young quarterback's visible maturation and a strong team offensive showing in the second half gave Los Al much to be pleased about.
    “We’re better at this point than I thought we would be,” coach John Barnes told reporters afterwards.
    The Griffins still will have to turn in better defensive showings against the run or they could be in for some long nights against teams with strong running games -- like, for instance, all the teams that will be in the Pac-5 playoffs.
    Regarding their slow start Thursday, the Griffins’ may have been a bit overconfident after their dominating 35-14 win last Friday over Long Beach Wilson last week. In that game Chris Soto not only broke the Los Al single game rushing record, he obliterated it.
    Soto galloped for 371 yards, breaking Cortes Rice old record of 313 yards, which Rice set only back in 2004. Soto not only broke one of the youngest rushing records, he also broke the oldest –the longest run from scrimmage (86 yards), previously shared by Mike Hixson (1970, against El Dorado) and Enrico Bozeman (1993, vs. Jordan).
    Los Al concludes its pre-season play next week, hosting Santa Monica on Thursday night.
Click below for more information on: 35-14 win over Long Beach Wilson

	OC Register story
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	MaxPreps stats 38-27 loss to Orange Lutheran
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	MaxPreps stats Click here to say "enough with the freakin' links, move on to the next story."

      Friedrich Nietzsche (the noted German volleyball coach) reportedly once said "That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
      If that’s the case then the Los Al volleyball team, which survived a murderous pre-season schedule, should once again be very strong as it heads into the start of Sunset League play next week by hosting matches against Marina and Edison on Tuesday and Thursday.
      Los Al takes an 11-4 overall record into the contest, but three of those losses came at the hands of three national powers, including a loss to #2 Assumption of Louisville, Kentucky at the Durango-Las Vegas Tournament and most recently, a 3-1 setback to #1 Mira Costa last Thursday night.
      Mira Costa features the talents of 6-5 Alix Klineman, the consensus top college prospect in the country, but Los Al came out strong in the first game before Klineman and company rallied to take the next three games.
      Despite that loss, the Griffins rallied to defeat Mater Dei 3-1 this past Tuesday.

      Ashley Tarutis (LAHS ’04) passed the 3,000 career assist mark when Notre Dame downed Rutgers 3-0 last Sunday. The Irish (8-5, 2-0 in the Big East) downed Villanova 3-1 on Sunday, and continue conference play on the East Coast when they take on Seton Hall (9-6, 1-1) on this Saturday, (Sept. 30).
      Tarutis and Notre Dame got the best of it when they faced Duke and former Griffin Rachael Moss (LAHS '06) and came away with a 3-1 win over the Blue Devils at the Marriott Classic in Tempe Ariz. on Saturday, Sept. 16. Tarutis had 22 assists and 14 digs while Moss had 13 kills and 4 serving aces. [Click here for box score]
      Duke -- which sports a 10-2 overall record and a 3-0 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference -- makes the eight mile trip to Chapel Hill to take on rival North Carolina this Saturday night.
      Jamie Garbisch (LAHS '03) had 14 kills as UC Santa Barbaraedged Loyola Marymount 3-2 in a non-conference match last weekend. The Gauchos are now 7-6 and play Long Beach State this Friday in in a conference match.
      After three weeks of road games, UC Irvine (4-9) will open Big West Conference play this weekend against Cal Poly SLO. The Anteaters defeated UC Davis in five games last Sunday. Ex-Griffin Alex Filkins (LAHS, '06) had two kills in the match.

      Ryan Gay’s long pass found teammate Lyle Martin behind the Cal State Dominguez defense and led to the game-winning goal as the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners downed the Toros 2-1 last Sunday. It was the 5th assist of the season for Gay (LAHS, '04). FYI for you avid soccer afficionados out there – Bakersfield goes to a full Division I schedule next season.

      After a couple tough losses last week – 2-1 to Santa Clara and 1-0 to St. Mary’s – the Unversity of San Francisco (Geremy Uhl, LAHS ’03) looks to bounce back in games this weekend against Portland and Gonzaga.

      Twentieth ranked Westmont men’s soccer (Sammy Montemer, LAHS ’05) opened the Golden State Athletic Conference season with a 2-1 loss at #16 Concordia (6-2, 1-0) on Wednesday. The Warriors lone goal came in the sixth minute of play.

      The mighty UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (Jeremy Abrams, LAHS '04) improved their season record to 9-1 with a 2-0 win over Colorado College last Sunday.

      Long Beach State – sporting a nifty 8-2 record and a target on its back as the favorite to win the Big West championship -- opens its conference season this weekend by hosting matches against Pacific and Cal State Northridge. Beach (Hayley Bolt, Julie Megorden, LAHS '05) split a pair of games last weekend, falling to Eastern Washington 2-1 on a missed clearing kick and then downing Gonzaga 1-0 in overtime as Sara Baca found a streaking Kim Silos who nailed the game-winner from 18 yards out. Beach, which was ranked #21 prior to the loss to EWU, fell out of this week's national rankings.

      Oklahoma State (Niccole Grimaldi (LAHS '04)) fell to #8 Texas A&M 3-1 on Wednesday night in a nationally televised Big 12 showdown on the Fox Soccer Channel. The 18th ranked Cowgirls (8-2-1 overall, 3-1 in conference play) play the University of Texas on Friday.

      Pepperdine (Erin Bay (LAHS '05), Bo Medina (LAHS '06)) concludes non-conference play this weekend with road matches against #23 Utah (coached by former Griffin coach Rich Manning) and then a Sunday match in sin city against UNLV. The Waves (6-2-2) split their contests last week, downing San Diego State 1-0 and falling to UCLA 3-0.

      Evansville (Rocky Hearst (LAHS, '05) takes a 4-4 record into their conference openers this Saturday when they take on Illinois State. Evansville fell to Valparaiso 3-0 on Set. 24.

      After disappointing losses in their ACC conference openers to ranked Duke and Wake Forest last weekend, Virginia Tech (Megan Strawther (LAHS '06) downed Miami 2-1 on Thursday and will play #3 Florida State on Sunday. The Seminoles had been ranked #1 in the nation until they fell to North Carolina last week. They are currently ranked #3 by both Soccer Buzz and Soccer America. Virginia Tech is now 5-4-1, and 1-2 in ACC play.

      After playing six of their last seven games on the road, Sacramento State concludes its non-conference schedule with games against Boise State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Last weekend the Hornets (5-4-1) tied Colorado State 1-1 and, playing on an icy, frigid field, lost to Air Force 1-0 on a long shot that hit a Sac State defender then bounced over the head of Hornet keeper Mandy Trojan (LAHS '06).
     
     
     

      It seems like an eternity ago now, but remember when OCHSA – the Orange County High School of the Arts - was a big part of the local scene. For those needing their OCHSA fix, here's an update from OC Metro magazine for you -- and another from the Orange County Business Journal.

      For those of you Rossmorons who haven't turned in your survey about future governance options (I humbly confess I am one of them), you need to get those puppies in right away. Click here to get more info.

      Former Griffin volleyball coach J.P. Calderon is still a viable option on that grand-daddy of reality shows, Survivor. Check here for the latest -- but if you've Tivo'd (or DVR'd, for you purists) the latest episode and haven't seen it, be warned that by clicking through to the site, you might see some info which can spoil the ending for you (like it did for me).