Goal-line stand gives Los Amigos Omicron League football title (2026)

Los Amigos' Dennis Smith (2) finds the open field for a receiving touchdown against University in the Omicron League.

By Andrew Turner

Staff Writer

Nov. 3, 2026 3:27 PM PT

Share via
- Facebook
- X
- Email

IRVINE — Los Amigos had mere feet to defend, its back against the wall, with University knocking on the door in pursuit of a go-ahead touchdown.

The clock was not a friend, little time left to respond should the ball cross the goal line, with the Trojans needing a half-yard to pick up a first down and 2 yards to take the lead.

Timely tackles by nose guard Luis Serrano and cornerback Alexis Marcelo-Chamu made the difference, as the Lobos’ late goal-line stand held off the host Trojans for a 34-31 win on Friday to clinch the Omicron League football title.

Los Amigos’ lineman Luis Serrano (66) celebrates a sack with teammates Christopher Anacleto (52) and Issac Castillo (33) against University on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Serrano, part of a five-man defensive front, came across from the left side of the formation to stop Kurtis Nivens for no gain. After a pre-snap penalty pushed the ball back to the 7-yard line, Trojans quarterback Dylan Elmer took off to his right. A sprinting Marcelo-Chamu made the tackle short of the first-down marker along the boundary.

“This team is special,” said Serrano, a senior who transferred from Santa Ana two years ago. “We got not the biggest players, or the best players in the state, but we got heart. I believe, with that [alone], we can make it far. … We did not give up, even though the ball was 1 yard [away from the end zone], we did not give up. We found a solution just to get it back, stop them on fourth down. Man, I love these boys to death.”

It had been a back-and-forth affair, with the sides trading touchdowns on each successive drive of the second half up to that point.

Marcelo-Chamu had two rushing touchdowns after halftime, but he still hoped to atone for a turnover committed on a kick return in the first half. A game-saving tackle was quite a way to do so.

Los Amigos’ running back Alexis Marcelo-Chamu (1) runs through traffic for a big gain against University on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“It feels great,” Marcelo-Chamu said. “I went through a lot of emotions. I started off the half bad, but then coming in the last play of the game, I knew I had to step up and recover myself from that fumble I had earlier in the game, so when I saw that quarterback run, I went for it and I put my body on the line for my team.”

Los Amigos (9-1), winner of nine games in a row, plays host to Ojai Nordhoff (9-1) on Friday at Michael A. Monsoor Memorial Stadium to kick off the CIF Southern Section Division 11 playoffs.

The Lobos secured their fourth league championship in five seasons, a decorated run after the program had gone 14 years in between league titles since sharing the Garden Grove League crown with Garden Grove and Santiago in 2008.

Los Amigos defenders Luis Serrano (66), Kevin Velez (18) and Joshua Bermejo (44) sack University quarterback Dylan Elmer (12) on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

A deep playoff run is the next frontier for Los Amigos, which advanced to the CIF quarterfinals in 2023 and 2024 but no further under Romel Guess, who is in his sixth year as head coach of the program.

“We’re excited, but we’re not settling,” Guess said. “We’ve won league titles before, and so that was a goal of ours. It wasn’t the end goal. If we’d lost tonight, which we wanted to win, you want to win league, our end goal is trying to make a run in CIF.

“I’ve done 10-0 before, and that was great, and then a loss in the second round. You know what I mean? I’ve won league titles and lost in the first round, so the league titles are great. We hung a bunch of those up at the school. We’re looking to hold a CIF title at the end of it.”

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Senior wide receiver Dennis Smith, who also played defensive back, was a dynamic playmaker for the Lobos, turning 10 catches into 161 yards and three touchdowns. Junior quarterback Trell Smith, his brother, completed 16 of 18 passes for 278 yards, and he rushed three times for 25 yards to eclipse 300 yards of total offense.

“I’ve been waiting for this game since Week 1,” said Dennis Smith, who also set up the Lobos’ last touchdown with a kick return to the University 19-yard line. “After [Playa del Rey] St. Bernard, after that loss, I knew we was gonna go against another tough team, and I’ve been waiting for this game. We’ve been knocking them off, every other team, and I’ve been preparing myself mentally and physically for this game.”

Brandon Flores, Chance Hein and Marcelo-Chamu each contributed two catches and surpassed 30 receiving yards, as the Lobos found options plentiful to move the ball through the air.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

After forcing punts on University’s first two possessions, Los Amigos’ defense struggled to get off the field. The Lobos did manage to create several negative plays, including a sack by Kevin Velez and tackles for lost yardage by Dennis Smith, Issac Castillo, Christopher Anacleto and Serrano.

Los Amigos needed all of those contributions to keep up with Elmer, who threw for 252 yards and four touchdowns, working primarily through Charlie Carmichael (116 receiving yards) and Moises Keith-Chavez (83 receiving yards).

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The second Elmer-to-Keith-Chavez scoring connection — a 35-yard pass with seven minutes left — provided the seventh of eight lead changes in the game, and University’s final lead, at 31-27.

“We’re just a tough football team,” Guess said. “I think that shows more than anything, man, is that these kids got no quit in them. They’re not going to lay down for no one. Playing an ugly game, they could have said, ‘Man, we’re down,’ and we ain’t been down in a while. That could have shook them, and it didn’t … These boys are resilient.”