Irvine Is Dropped From Unbeaten : Gonzales’ 42-Yard TD Interception Sparks El Toro’s Win

El Toro High School Coach Bob Johnson praised his defense, which accounted for just as many points as his offense. Irvine Coach Terry Henigan praised the opposition, then expressed his displeasure with the guys in the striped shirts.

So it went Friday night after El Toro dropped Irvine from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 14-0 South Coast League win in front of 3,000 spectators in Irvine Stadium.

Johnson was just happy his team was able to find a way to score, even if it took a defensive back to show the way to the end zone. Henigan watched as his team was penalized for holding on three successive plays in the first quarter, and had a less-than chummy relationship with the officials from that point on. El Toro defensive back Mike Gonzales intercepted a Jimmy Raye pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown with 7:01 left in the third quarter. Somebody had to do it, and neither offense seemed able. The play gave the Chargers a 7-0 lead, which might as well have been 70-0. Irvine’s Deleware Wing-T offense is fine for controlling the ball and consuming time from the clock, but not very effective when it comes to comebacks.

The Vaqueros lacked a passing attack and that, more than the officiating, cost them this game. Gonzales’ interception was one of four passes the Chargers thieved from an offense that had committed only two turnovers in its first four games. Raye’s passing statistics: 7 of 20 attempts for 43 yards.

“They have a tough time playing catch-up,” Johnson said. “That’s not an offense to play catch-up with.”

Which made it all the more important for El Toro to score first . . . somehow.

The Chargers were having offensive problems of their own in the first half. They were held to 12 yards rushing, 42 yards in all. Two possessions early in the third quarter had led to only two punts.

Then came the play that gave the Chargers all the points they needed. On third-down from the Irvine 40, Raye, all 5-feet, 6-inches of him, threw a pass deep over the middle that looked as if it was intended for Gonzales.

“I guess he didn’t see me, because he was behind a bunch of linemen,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzales saw only open field, and went into the end zone untouched. The Chargers added a touchdown when quarterback Brett Johnson, seeking only to run some time off the clock in the final seconds, broke free for a 71-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak. With 35 seconds to play, all that was left was the shouting. Henigan took care of that as the officials left the field.

Henigan was irritated by four calls in particular. Three came in the first quarter, when Gerg Gerardi was called for holding on three straight plays. First-and-10 at the El Toro 38 turned into first-and-36 at the Irvine 38.

The fourth came when the Vaqueros were driving for the potential tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Bill Brosnan gained four yards for an apparent first down to the El Toro 11, but the play was nullified by an illegal motion penalty. Two plays later, Shane Brisbin knocked down Raye’s desperation pass on fourth down to give El Toro the ball and preserve the lead.

Afterward, the first words out of Henigan’s mouth were: “The best team won tonight.”

Here’s what followed: “That was the worst officiating I’ve seen in 17 years of coaching. That crew was inept. I think everybody in the stadium saw confused officials for a big game tonight. I’ll be written up for this and I’ll probably be called into my principal’s office but I don’t care. I have to fight for my kids.”

Said Johnson: “The penalties hurt them in the first quarter, obviously, but they evened out after that.”

Johnson wasn’t particularly surprised at the way his team took the ball away from a team that hasn’t been too charitable about giving it up. “Our team creates turnovers,” he said. “It was almost better to have the defense on the field tonight the way it played.”

Take away Johnson’s long touchdown run and Irvine had a 167-87 advantage in total offense. But when the Vaqueros needed yards the most, they were turned away by penalties and turnovers.

Despite the mistakes, Johnson called this Irvine team the best he’s seen. The Vaqueros got out to a 4-0 start, the first time in the school’s history that they won four in a row.

“We’ve played four undefeated, ranked teams in a row,” Johnson said. “We’re tired of that. The schedule’s been real tough. We need a break.”