Los Alamitos football rallies past Yorba Linda in first-round thriller

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LONG BEACH — Los Alamitos and Yorba Linda’s football teams shared a more pressing matter Friday than their projected membership in the Alpha League in 2026-27.

The first football games between the schools arrived in the opening round of the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs.

Los Alamitos and Yorba Linda turned out to be closely-matched in several areas except one:

The Ibarra factor.

Los Alamitos senior Lenny Ibarra scored two touchdowns in the second half and intercepted a pass in the end zone with nine seconds left to help rally the Griffins to a 35-28 victory at Veterans Stadium.

Los Alamitos (9-2), ranked ninth in Orange County and No. 5 in Division 2, trailed Yorba Linda 28-14 at halftime before Ibarra sparked the comeback.

“Absolutely,” Los Alamitos coach Ray Fenton said of barra being a difference-maker. “Not only physically but leadership wise. You should have heard him at halftime in the locker room with our kids. I really think he kept them in the game.”

“That’s why he’s a West Point guy,” the coach added.

In advancing to the quarterfinals next week against San Juan Hills, Los Alamitos took a 33-28 lead — its first of the game — on an 8-yard touchdown run by Kamden Tillis with 1:04 left in the fourth. Ibarra caught the 2-point conversion on a trick play.

Tillis, a junior, set up his score with a 35-yard reception along the sideline on a third-and-11 pass from Colin Creason. The play highlighted an 86-yard scoring drive that began with 4:47 left.

Los Alamitos trimmed Yorba Linda’s lead to 28-21 late in the third quarter a leaping, 24-yard touchdown grab by Ibarra from Creason.

Early in the fourth, Yorba Linda (9-2) tried a fourth-and-6 from its 34 but threw an incompletion that Ibarra almost intercepted. Three plays later, the Army commit scored on a 20-yard TD run from the Wildcat to cut Yorba Linda’s lead to 28-27. The extra point missed with 11:10 left but the Griffins weren’t done.

“It just shows that we don’t quit,” Ibarra said of the rally. “We have each other’s backs and keep fighting no matter what.”

“We knew it was win or go home,” he added. “We just played as brotherhood.”

Creason and Tillis delivered strong play in the second half to support Ibarra.

Creason, a first-year starting senior, completed all 10 of his passes to finish 14 of 16 for 201 yards and two TDs.

Tillis rushed for 78 of his 94 yards in the second half.

Los Alamitos edge Jackson Renger recorded a sack early in the third quarter to help lead the defense.

Yorba Linda, ranked 11th in the county and 12th in Division 2, made big plays early and late to lead 28-14 at halftime.

On their final drive of the fourth quarter, the Mustangs reached the Los Alamitos 33 before Ibarra snagged a fourth-and-7 pass into the end zone.

“We played really hard and just couldn’t get anything going in the second half,” Yorba Linda coach Jeff Bailey said. “Hand it to them. They kicked our butt in the second half.”

Bailey pointed to Yorba Linda’s first possession of the second half as a key missed opportunity. After Los Alamitos turned the ball over on downs at its 31 on a run by Ibarra on a punt, the Mustangs failed to gain a first down and came away empty.

“We needed to score there to keep things going,” he said.

Yorba Linda’s highlights were in the first half.

Troy Roberts caught a 13-yard touchdown from Noah Trujillo with four seconds left in the second quarter as the Mustangs opened their third, 14-point lead of the first half.

Roberts’ leaping grab on the side of the end zone on second-and-goal to capped a 76-yard drive and a perfect first half of passing by Trujillo. The junior, in his second game as the full-time starter, went 12 for 12 for 171 yards.

Trujillo completed a 36-yard pass to Caleb Zamora on the drive to help the Bravo League champion answer a defensive score by Los Alamitos.

The Griffins’ Logan Moore, a 6-foot-5 defensive end, deflected a pass and forced a fumble on the play that Gavin Vera returned 13 yards for a touchdown. The defensive score cut Yorba Linda’s lead to 21-14 with 5:17 left in the second quarter.

Yorba Linda led 21-7 in the middle of the second quarter on a 10-yard TD run by Vaughn Sharp to punctuate a 77-yard drive.

The Mustangs set up the score with a trick play as Roberts connected with Michael Saucedo for a 37-yard completion on a receiver pass.

Yorba Linda played it aggressively on the first play of the second quarter as Isaiah Trujillo scored on a fourth-and-goal run from the 2 for a 14-0 lead.

“Always aggressive,” Bailey said. “We’ve been like that all year.”

Los Alamitos responded on the next possession. Creason tossed 75-yard touchdown to Boise State committed tight end Beckham Hofland.

Los Alamitos and Yorba Linda entered the week as projected members of the Alpha League in 2026 and 2027 based on power rating on HSratings.