IRVINE- Northwood's football team took the field Friday night fired up, hoping to notch its first victory in three tries over crosstown rival Irvine.

But Northwood had trouble slowing down the Vaqueros, who captured a 24-7 nonleague victory at Irvine High. (Click here for full game stats.)

"I don't know what it is, we just haven't played very well against Irvine," Northwood coach Rick Curtis said. "We just didn't play well. Offensively, we dropped balls, and we had turnovers that we haven't had before.

Northwood (1-3) turned the ball over twice on interceptions and had key penalties which hurt drives.

The Timberwolves were led by quarterback Andrew Stephenson, who completed 10 of 20 passes for 99 yards and rushed for 70 yards on 13 carries.

Irvine (4-1) had a balanced offensive attack that was able to chew up yards and time.
Leading the way was Tra'shon Young, who rushed for 96 yards on 19 carries.

Quarterback Brennan Leitaowas also effective, completing 6 of 11 passes for 101 yards.

"It was two teams playing hard, and I think everyone knew it," Irvine Coach Terry Henigan said. "We ran the ball well and hit a couple good pass plays, and that helped."

Irvine moved ahead, 3-0, on a 31-yard field goal by Edgar Santana midway through the first quarter.

Leitao connected with Jake Day on a 28-yard TD pass late in the first quarter to make it 10-0.
Justin Reihanifam then scored from 3 yards out with 5:15 left in the second quarter to give Irvine a 17-0 lead.

But Northwood cut the lead to 17-7 on Andrew Smidt's 5-yard TD run late in the second quarter.

Northwood made it interesting when it drove to the Irvine 19-yard line early in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves lined up ready to go for the first down on a fourth-and-5 play, but they were called for a delay of game.

The next play, Stephenson's pass fell incomplete.

Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com