Their Success Is Childs’ Play

There are 94 players on Los Alamitos’ roster for tonight’s Southern Section Division I semifinal against Lakewood.

Jeremy Childs is the only one of them who is a three-year starter.

Quick, precise routes have made Childs the main man when it comes to catching passes at Los Alamitos, where the Griffins have a long history of talented receivers.

Like Brad Melsby (UCLA), who graduated in 1995, Tony Hartley (Oregon) in 1996 and Keenan Howry (Oregon, Minnesota Vikings) in 1999, Childs’ skills are fashioned from similar cloth. In the future, he could be wearing similar colors. He takes a recruiting trip to UCLA this weekend, to Oregon in January.

He has caught 78 passes this season for 21 touchdowns, the latter a school record that is sixth in section history. He has 208 catches in his career, third-best all-time, and 37 touchdowns, which ranks fifth all-time.

If there was a defining moment to this season for the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Childs, it came against Huntington Beach Edison. Facing a fourth and 11 in the closing seconds, and Los Alamitos down by three points, Childs ran his post route, worked his way back toward quarterback Jim Barnes and jumped in front of a defender to catch the ball for a first down. A play later, the Griffins kicked a tying field goal, then won in overtime, 31-24.

“He can make the great catch, no doubt about it,” Coach John Barnes, father of the quarterback, said about Childs. “He can make the spectacular catch, especially when you need it.”

The coach said Childs’ success comes from his savvy as a receiver.

“He has great quickness in his route running,” Barnes said. “There are probably guys faster than him, but he really understands how to run a route, how to get open and separate from a defender.”

It’s a skill that will come in handy tonight against Lakewood (11-1) at East Los Angeles College. The Griffins (11-1) will be up against one of the most highly touted defenses in the state, and though Childs doesn’t think Lakewood’s defense is as good overall as Mission Viejo’s, against whom he had seven catches, he does believe the Lancers’ secondary is better.

“It’s a challenge for me,” Childs said. “I know most of the players on Lakewood, so besides us playing together, it’s for bragging rights too.”

A victory puts Los Alamitos in position to win a second title in three years.

One benefit is that Childs and Jim Barnes have great chemistry.

“Jim was telling me the other night about when they were freshmen, and they pulled off a big win against Esperanza when they threw about six in a row to each other,” the elder Barnes said.

Like Childs, Jim Barnes is reworking the school record book. He has completed 170 of 245 passes (69.4%) for 2,392 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions. His all-time touchdown total of 56 is one more than 1993 graduate Tim Carey’s, and Barnes needs one more touchdown pass to tie Kevin Feterik’s (1996) record.

Barnes also has the benefit of throwing to Orlando Scandrick, who has caught 43 passes, and Luis Reyes, who has caught 25.

Adding to the balance, Cortes Rice has rushed for 1,705 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Since a terrible performance against Mission Viejo in its second game, a 55-21 loss, Los Alamitos has played well in every facet.

“The team we have is a championship team, and the coaches push us to settle for nothing less than the championship,” Childs said. “It’s not so much that we have a lot of superstar talent, but everyone does their job and plays hard. We just make plays.”