GARDEN GROVE — The Garden Grove League football game between Los Amigos and Rancho Alamitos on Thursday wound up being a turnover-marred contest.

It became apparent that the team that could play mistake-free football down the stretch would likely come out on top.

That team was Los Amigos, which turned a takeaway early in fourth quarter into the eventual winning touchdown, forced a punt on the ensuing drive and then put together a long, time-consuming drive late in the game to come away with a 13-12 victory at Bolsa Grande High School.

By preserving the victory, the Lobos (3-4, 1-1) were able to avert what could have been a second heartbreaking defeat in a row after giving up a last-minute touchdown in their 28-21 defeat to La Quinta last week.

The victory also keeps the Lobos in the mix for the league championship along with the Vaqueros (3-4, 1-1), La Quinta and Bolsa Grande.

Los Amigos turned the ball over five times over the first three quarters but also had takeaways of their own, including a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown from Miguel Radilla that gave the Lobos a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.

“We did everything tonight to lose the game,” Lobos coach Melo Guess said. “We’ve been beating ourselves quite a bit. That just shows we’ve got a lot of young boys. We’re still fighting injuries. We’ve got a couple of bodies back tonight. We’re going to get a couple more guys back next week. I’m a firm believer, man, everything happens for a reason. It’s part of God’s plan for whatever the reason.”

With two minutes left in the first half, the Lobos had possession on the Vaqueros 21-yard-line and were in a position to take a two score lead into the halftime.

But an errant snap sailed far over quarterback Maysen Navarro’s head and was recovered by the Vaqueros’ Luis Lopez, who picked up the loose ball and returned it to the Rancho Alamitos 47.

The Vaqueros drove to the Lobos 10 where quarterback Henry Garcia hit Omar Salazar for a 10-yard touchdown pass, making the score 7-6 after the missed 2-point conversion attempt.

Rancho Alamitos took a 12-7 lead on Henry Garcia’s 9-yard scoring pass to Jesus Diego.

But the Lobos got the lead back for good on Isaac Galindo’s 30-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

That score came off a fumble recovery from Marcelito Avilas.

Galindo finished with 181 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries.

“My blockers got that first hole for me,” Galindo said of his touchdown run. “I got to second level and I just had to make the most out of it.”

Isaac Galindo of Los Amigos rushed for 181 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in a 13-12 victory over Rancho Alamitos on Thursday, Oct. 5. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

After forcing the Vaqueros to punt on the ensuing possession, the Lobos put together a 15-play, 37-yard drive, and even though they didn’t score, the Lobos left only 1 minute and 17 seconds on the clock for the Vaqueros, who had no timeouts left.

“You know, last week it was a tough loss,” Guess said. “But it was really important to bounce back from last week’s loss. Because, I mean, it’s for the league title, the last league title.”

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