PREP FOOTBALL : Belle Paces University Past Irvine

Senior Craig Belle scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns as University High defeated Irvine, 34-20, Friday night at Irvine Stadium in Mark Cunningham’s debut as the Trojans’ coach.

Belle, who rushed for 166 yards on 17 carries, gave the Trojans a 26-20 lead with 3:46 remaining when he scored from 15 yards out.

Then, with 1:03 left, he gave University an insurance score, bolting 50 yards for a touchdown to lengthen the Trojans’ lead to 14.

University, which equaled its win total of last year when it went 1-8-1, dominated the game offensively, piling up 325 yards on the ground compared to 118 for Irvine.

The Trojans’ other top rusher was junior David Liebke, who gained 140 yards on 19 carries and scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 8:20 remaining in the third quarter to tie the score at 20-20.

Irvine took the early lead when George Koutures intercepted a Jeff Bailey pass and ran 55 yards for a touchdown with 3:05 remaining in the first quarter.

But Bailey, who completed 3 of 6 passes for 45 yards, brought University back when he hit John Oakson on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 10:42 remaining in the first half. The kick failed.

Koutures also scored Irvine’s second touchdown, this time on offense, when he hauled in a 35-yard pass from Jeff Jones with 7:35 left in the second quarter. The kick failed, but Irvine had a 13-6 lead.

The Vaqueros extended their lead to 20-6 on Jones’ 23-yard touchdown run with 5:25 left in the second quarter.

University trimmed the lead to 20-13 when Bailey scored on a 13-yard run with 2:03 remaining in the second quarter, before scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half.