PREP FOOTBALL : Dana Hills Gets a Kick Out of Surprises : Hollis’ Field Goal With 17 Seconds Left Lifts Dolphins Over Irvine, 10-7

J.B. Hollis kicked a 37-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining Thursday night to give Dana Hills High School a 10-7 victory over Irvine and its second upset in the South Coast League in less than a week.

Six days ago, the upstart Dolphins scored the biggest surprise of the 1985 season with a 7-3 win over league-leading El Toro, and suddenly Dana Hills has a legitimate chance of earning a berth in the Southern Conference playoffs.

Only two weeks ago, it was difficult to imagine the Dolphins earning a playoff berth after they opened league play with losses to Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley. Dana Hills’ defense was dented for 45 points in the two losses, but since then, the Dolphins have allowed only 10 points.

Dana Hills, which evened its league record at 2-2 and overall mark at 4-4, looked as if it was going to have to be content with a 7-7 tie. The Dolphins were at their 28-yard line and there was only 2:13 left to play.

But quarterback Jon Micalizzi moved the Dolphins down the field, completing 3 of 6 pass attempts for 43 yards. The big play on the winning drive was a nine-yard run by fullback Mike Singleton on fourth down that gave Dana Hills a first down at Irvine’s 20-yard line with 22 seconds remaining.

With no timeouts left, Micalizzi fired a quick pass out of bounds to stop the clock and Hollis trotted out to attempt the winning kick.

“I knew it was good as soon as I kicked it,” Hollis said. “I was standing on the sidelines hoping that we could move the ball within range. Then, I started thinking, ‘I better make it or the team’s going to kill me.’ ”

Hollis had nothing to worry about. Winning field goals are nothing new for him. Playing for the freshman team two years ago, he kicked a 37-yarder to beat Mission Viejo. And 37 yards was a chip shot.

Earlier this year, Hollis kicked a 52-yard field goal against Torrey Pines. The kick was two yards short of tying the Orange County record of 54 yards set by Gerry Graham of Edison in 1982.

“This was a routine kick for him,” Dolphin Coach Don Douglass said.

But the game was hardly routine.

Irvine opened the first quarter with a 63-yard touchdown run by halfback Gary Renteria, and it looked like the Vaqueros were going to snap out of an offensive slump. Instead, Dana Hills rebounded to tie the score, 7-7, on its next possession with a 71-yard touchdown drive.

The Vaqueros gained 209 yards rushing out of their Delaware Wing-T offense, but they continued to have problems scoring. Irvine had scored an average of 15 points per game in its last four games and lost for the third time in four games by managing only the first-quarter touchdown.

Dolphin running backs Victor Vurpillat, Keith Coley and Singleton combined for 200 yards rushing, and Micalizzi added 137 yards passing by completing 10 of 18 in his best game this season. The Dolphins continually gained key yardage behind the blocking of their outstanding tackle, Darran Baird.

Afterward, Douglass talked about his team’s playoff chances and the Dolphins’ second big upset.

“When they scored on the first play, I thought we might be in for a long one,” Douglass said. “If a good team scores seven points in 30 seconds, what’s going to happen in the next 47 minutes?

“But the defense did a great job. Jon Micalizzi threw some nice passes and Matt Raith made some nice catches to get us within field goal range.

“The playoffs? We have to win the next two games against San Clemente and Laguna Hills and then see what happens. If we win them both, fine, but then it’s out of our hands.”

The loss ended Irvine’s hopes of participating in the postseason tournament. The Vaqueros fell to 2-3 in the seven-team league and 5-3 overall.

Irv--Renteria 63 run (Koutures kick)

DH--Coley 5 run (Hollis kick)

DH--FG Hollis 37

Attendance--1,100