IRVINE – Northwood made it two in a row over Irvine with a 19-14 victory over the Vaqueros in the Pacific Coast League opener for both teams Friday night at Irvine.
Irvine had won eight games in a row over Northwood until the Timberwolves snapped the streak last year with a 23-21 victory.
Northwood (2-4, 1-0) was determined from the start to extend the streak in its favor.
But the Timberwolves had to rally with a solid fourth quarter, outscoring Irvine, 13-7.
“Our kids believed,” said Northwood coach Dean Toohey. “We told them if they gave us 100 percent effort and executed our schemes, we would have a chance to win. That’s a very good Irvine team over there; they have some very good football players.
“I’m so proud of our kids and how hard they played. They gave me everything they had for four quarters and that’s all you can ask.”
Northwood quarterback Trevor Lawrence led the way, passing for 102 yards, along with a defensive unit that contained Irvine (3-3, 0-1) for much of the game, allowing just 79 yards rushing.
Spencer Tran rushed for 43 yards for Northwood.
Irvine got a strong performance from quarterback Joseph Carter, who passed for 206 yards.
But the Vaqueros were plagued by 125 yards in penalties, including four personal fouls.
“Northwood came out with the emotion we knew they were going to come out with,” said Irvine Coach Erik Terry. “With them winning the game last year, they believed they could win and we knew we would have to battle against their strong belief.
“I think they did a great job. They executed on offense better than we’ve seen them execute in a while and defensively, they kept us off guard.”
Irvine moved out to a 7-6 lead on a 34-yard touchdown run by Jacob Scheiperpeter with 3:57 left in the third quarter.
But Northwood responded in the fourth quarter. Winston Li connected on a 34-yard field goal with 8:44 remaining to put the Timberwolves ahead, 9-7.
Northwood added to its lead when Lawrence connected with Michael Bellas on a 7-yard TD pass with 5:06 left to put the Timberwolves ahead, 16-7.
Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com