Irvine follows Young's lead

IRVINE - Northwood had a glimmer of hope in the first half Friday night against crosstown rival Irvine.

But Irvine running back DaVonte Young dashed those hopes, leading the Vaqueros to a 31-7 nonleague victory over Northwood at Irvine.

The freshman helped Irvine (3-1) overcome a 7-3 deficit after the first quarter, scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 245 yards on 24 carries.

Irvine leads the series with Northwood, 4-0.

Young sat out the past two games because of a leg injury, but he was definitely ready to play Friday night.

“The first quarter was a little slow, but in the second quarter, we picked it up and the offensive linemen knew their assignments and started blocking well, and I think we all played good as a team,” Young said.

“I’m very proud of the quarterback (Allen Merritt) and everyone else who was blocking well.”

Northwood (2-2) took a 7-0 lead when quarterback Kyle Beane connected with Tony Fullman on a 29-yard TD pass with 6:11 left in the first quarter.

Irvine closed the gap to 7-3 on a 33-yard field goal by Tim Callian with 4:12 left in the first quarter. Then Young put the Vaqueros ahead, 10-7, on a 13-yard TD run with 41 seconds left in the second quarter.

Irvine then took control when Young dashed 66 yards for a score on the second play of the third quarter to make it 17-7.

Following a Northwood turnover, Young scored on an 11-yard TD run.

“He’s (Young) the real deal,” Northwood Coach Rick Curtis said. “We knew that going in and he gave us fits.

“The first four minutes of the third quarter was obviously a turning point of the game.”