NEWPORT BEACH After slow starts by both teams in the opening round of the CIF-SS Southern Division playoffs, Irvine pulled away from Estancia in the second half to win, 24-6, on Friday at Newport Harbor High.

“We’re going to be practicing on Monday, that’s all we wanted,” Irvine coach Terry Henigan said. “I’m happy, I tell you what, they played well; we had our work cut out for us.” 

After Irvine (8-2) stepped out to a 10-0 lead at halftime, Estancia (5-6) came out of the break a different team. Consecutive first-down runs by senior Carlos Mendez seemed to have the Eagles into an offensive groove. However, a key stop on fourth-and-1 by the Vaqueros set the course for the remainder of the game. 

On its ensuing possession, Irvine marched down the field in six plays. Senior running back Andrew Payne scored from 3 yards out for a 17-0 lead. Payne finished with 96 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. 

Estancia managed  to avoid the shutout when junior quarterback Radames Gutierrez found senior wide receiver Eddie Tomaseki n the end zone from 19 yards out. Gutierrez finished 12 of 19 for 107 yards.

Contact the writer: preps@ocregister.com