Irvine kick returner Kyle Fogarty gets a key block from teammate Enzo Cahoon to break loose for an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with no time remaining in the second quarter. (PHOTOS: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).
Before Friday night’s non-league game with Kennedy, Irvine Coach Tom Ricci said his team has found its identity with Will Bowman at quarterback, a strong running game with Seamus Hoffman and a tough defense.
On Friday, the Vaqueros further solidified Ricci’s declaration.
For the second consecutive week, Bowman threw three touchdown passes leading Irvine to a 48-7 victory. It was Irvine’s fourth consecutive victory and the third straight season Vaqueros have defeated the Fighting Irish.
To see the slide show, click on the first picture:
“I’m feeling more comfortable at the quarterback position; I think I earned it and I’m gaining more confidence each week,” said Bowman, who completed 11 of 13 passes for 209 yards and three TD passes. He also rushed for a touchdown. “We need to keep on doing what we are doing.”
Irvine’s offensive attack was nearly unstoppable in the first half.
The Vaqueros (4-1) took the opening kickoff and quickly marched 68 yards in five plays to take an early lead. Bowman tossed a perfectly placed 30-yard TD pass to Enzo Cahoon for the touchdown, capping the scoring drive.
Two plays following a Kennedy punt, Bowman threw a strike down the middle to a wide open Briggs Charpentier, who made the catch and raced into the end zone for the touchdown, completing the 39-yard touchdown pass play. The Vaqueros 2-point conversation attempt failed and Irvine led 14-0 at the 6:54 mark of the first quarter.
Moments later, following another Fighting Irish punt, Bowman promptly moved Irvine down the field. This time he connected again with Cahoon on a 43-yard TD pass, upping the Vaqueros’ lead to 22-0 with 2:41 remaining in the opening quarter.
“I don’t think we’re going to use again this season,” said Cahoon, who caught three passes for 83 yards and two TDs. “We were grinding it out on offense and our defense was hammering out there.”
Midway through the second quarter, Hoffman increased Irvine’s lead to 28-0, following his 24-yard TD run with 6:26 to play in the half.
“We did everything right tonight; the Oline’s blocking, the quarterback reads, our defense play; all the cards were working,” said Hoffman, who rushed for 100 yards yards on seven carries and a touchdown.
Late in the half, the Fighting Irish recovered a fumble deep in Irvine territory.
Two plays later, quarterback Paxton Gatewood, playing in his first game game since recovering from a concussion, completed a 19-yard TD pass to Brandon Angeli to cut the Vaqueros lead to 28-7 with 11 seconds left in the half.
However, Kyle Fogarty returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a TD on the final play of the half, giving Irvine a 34-7 halftime lead.
The Vaqueros’ defense, led by Luqman Sanyang, Jordan Yeroushalmi, Greyson Hall and Matt Freihat, limited Kennedy to under 100 yards of offense in the first half and sacked Kennedy quarterbacks three times and forced an interception in the game.
“We came out with a lot of energy and and we’ll continue to build o this win,” said Freihat, a linebacker.
Jonathan Black scored on a 60-yard touchdown run and Bowman added a short TD run in the second-half to compete the Vaqueros scoring. Six different Irvine players scored touchdowns.
Ricci was extremely pleased with the victory.
“Our goal was to come out quick and score,” said Ricci. “After that, we were able to work on different things. Our quarterback was throwing accurate passes and we felt good about scoring on special teams. We work hard on our special teams.”
Ricci also said that Irvine has lost only one home game in the last three years.
Kennedy coach Toa Siatunu’u said his team has some work to do.
“It’s back to the drawing board,” said Siatunu’u, who is in his second year as head coach of Kennedy. “It’s tough to lose, but in football somebody wins and somebody loses. We have to see how we can rebound from this. My hat is off to Tom Ricci and his team. They played well on both sides of the ball.”
Irvine players wore black pants and black socks to coincide with the “blackout” theme for the game.
After Portola beat Northwood on Friday, there is currently a three-way tie between Northwood, Irvine and Portola for the coveted Dennis Fence Post Trophy, awarded to the Irvine high school football team which has the best record against the Irvine high schools.
The post PHOTOS: Irvine puts it all together for decisive non-league victory against Kennedy first appeared on .