EMPIRE LEAGUE FOOTBALL : Los Alamitos Starts Slowly Then Routs Cypress

CERRITOS — The rout that was expected in the Empire League opener for Los Alamitos and Cypress happened Thursday, it was just a quarter late getting under way.

But once it started only the final gun could end it as Los Alamitos defeated winless Cypress, 62-2, at Gahr High School.

Los Alamitos (6-0, 1-0 in league) is the top-ranked team in Orange County and had gone 27 games without a loss. The Griffins have won and shared back-to-back Southern Section titles.

But there was at least one negative for the Griffins. They played a sluggish first quarter and trailed, 2-0, when it was over.

The points came when Los Alamitos snapped the ball out of the end zone out of punt formation at its 17.

But with the help of a malfunctioning clock and a generous Cypress offense, Los Alamitos looked impressive in scoring five second-quarter touchdowns.

The Griffins got fumble recoveries from Zack Kahler and Eric Cooper and an interception from Clay Kemp, all of which set up second-quarter touchdowns.

Los Alamitos took the lead, 7-2, when Enrico Bozman scored the first of his three touchdowns on an eight-yard run with 10 minutes 11 seconds left before halftime.

Cypress then had the ball for three plays and punted. During the time Cypress had the ball, the clock numbers were scrambled but when Los Alamitos started its next drive, the clock was clear again and showed 10:36 left.

Bozman and many of the Los Alamitos starters played only about two minutes of the second half.

Bozman finished with 122 yards in 17 carries. His other touchdown runs were five yards each.

Kahler scored on a three-yard run to give Los Alamitos a 14-2 lead with 7:36 left in the quarter. Brad Melsby, a wide receiver, caught a fumble by Bozman and raced 25 yards into the end zone and Los Alamitos led, 21-2, with 3:49 left.

Los Alamitos had 289 yards rushing and its defense held Cypress (0-6, 0-1) to minus 52 yards rushing and 34 yards in total offense.

“We played great on defense the whole game,” Los Alamitos Coach John Barnes said. “I’m happy mostly for the guys that came off the bench and got to play.”