Orange County High School Football PREP EXTRA : Irvine Overwhelms Mission Viejo, 41-6

The Mission Viejo Diablos thought Irvine might not take Friday’s game as serious as, say, the big-time encounter it has with Mater Dei in two weeks.

And at times during the first half, the Vaqueros played as if their minds were elsewhere. But the defending Southern Section Division IV champions are not going to turn down the kind of gifts the Diablos brought to Irvine High.

Five Mission Viejo turnovers were converted into 28 points, and the Vaqueros went on to rout the Diablos, 41-6.

Irvine’s most consistent offensive threat was quarterback Scott Larsen, who passed for 146 yards and one touchdown. Five different running backs contributed 25 yards or more--reserve Dennis Gaitor led them with 40--and four different rushers scored. Chris Austin had two touchdowns.

When Todd Fielding (who led both teams in rushing with 63 yards) left with an ankle injury in the first half, the Diablos turned to Ryan Ballas to carry them. Ballas caught six passes for 78 yards, including Mission Viejo’s only touchdown, but the Diablos were not the same team after Fielding left.

Quarterback Austin Moherman passed for 134 yards but two of his passes were intercepted. He was sacked twice and had one of the three Diablos fumbles.

Mission Viejo Coach Bill Denny believed Irvine, ranked fourth in the county, would show where his young team might fit in the South Coast League.

“They have definitely been the measuring stick,” Denny said. “They’re a perennial power and they always play physical.”

Irvine Coach Terry Henigan is so sure.

“If this was an experienced team, I could tell you where we’re at now,” Henigan said. “As it stands, I might not know until the (Sea View) league starts.

“As long as we’re progressing, fine. But if we’re not ‘there’ by the time we face Newport Harbor we’ll be in big trouble.”

Mission Viejo started shakily, with turnovers in their first three possessions--two interceptions and a fumble by Fielding. The Vaqueros turned the last two into a pair of first quarter scores; Austin ran in a touchdown from three yards out, and Larsen and Walker hooked up on a 44-yard touchdown pass.

On the first play of the second quarter, the Diablos scored when Ryan Ballas caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Moherman. The point after kick, however, was blocked.

If the Mission Viejo defense could have continue to contain the Irvine attack--the Vaqueros gained just 135 total yards in the first half--an upset was still possible.

But Larsen drove Irvine to touchdowns in his team’s first two third quarter possessions, getting a 12-yard scoring run from Clark and a one-yard leap over the pile from Diehl. The lead then was 22 points.