Irvine runs over Costa Mesa

IRVINE- Irvine’s running game picked up the slack Thursday night as the Vaqueros pounded out a 42-7 nonleague victory over Costa Mesa at Irvine High.

Irvine (2-1) was playing without its starting quarterback, Brandon Allen, who is out for the season because of a knee injury.

So Irvine coach Terry Henigan geared the team’s attack toward the run.

“Overall, I was happy with the performance, I thought we played hard,” Henigan said. “It looks like we’re going to get out of here without any injuries, and that’s always good in the preseason.”

Junior Tra’shon Young led the way, scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 83 yards on 12 carries.

Senior Justin Reihanifam also contributed, rushing for 94 yards on five carries, including a 57-yard TD run in the second quarter which put Irvine ahead, 28-7.

The Vaqueros used two quarterbacks who have limited experience.

Junior Allen Merritt completed 2 of 3 passes for 30 yards and sophomore Brennan Leitao completed 2 of 4 passes for 27 yards. Each quarterback threw an interception.

“It’s a growing experience, we’re not going to ask them to win games for us, just manage games, and they’re getting better at it,” Henigan said.

Irvine got a boost early when Michael Ernst returned the first punt of the game 58 yards for a score.

Young scored on a 13-yard TD and Jake Day went over from 10 yards out later in the quarter to put Irvine ahead, 21-0.

Costa Mesa (0-3) made it 21-7 when Robbie Gemayel scored from 5 yards out with 7:25 left in the second quarter. Gemayel ran for 39 yards on 18 carries.

Click here for full game stats and team rosters.

Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com