LAGUNA HILLS – A strong rushing attack and a stingy, opportunistic defense paved the way for visiting Irvine’s 33-13 nonleague victory over Laguna Hills on Friday night.
Irvine (4-1) rushed for 189 yards and forced three turnovers in the first half to build a 20-0 lead. Vaqueros running back Joshua Gray broke off an 80-yard touchdown run on the game’s first play, and Laguna Hills (1-3) was unable to keep up.
“We know we have some explosive players who can really make some big plays,” Irvine coach Eric Terry said. “All week we talked about setting the tone early offensively.”
Later in the first quarter, Irvine linebacker Zahed Abassi recovered a fumble and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. A second-quarter touchdown run by Matthew Fiege and two Hawks field goals made the score 20-6 at halftime.
Gray finished with a team-high 160 rushing yards and two TDs, while Irvine quarterback Mikey Filia ran for 99 yards.
Laguna Hills running back Mark Hamilton had 95 receiving yards. Lucky Zuvich completed 10 of 24 passes for 180 yards.
