PREP FOOTBALL / SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION V PLAYOFFS : Santa Ana Valley Makes Most of Its Moment

For the first time in 17 years, the Santa Ana Valley football team wasn’t watching the playoffs, it was in them.

And the Falcons made sure their postseason return wasn’t a stolen moment, ripping Irvine, 31-14, in front of an estimated 1,000 Saturday at Santa Ana Stadium.

Santa Ana Valley (8-3) will meet top-seeded Servite on Friday in the next round.

The Falcons used muscle to beat the Vaqueros (6-5), rushing for 288 yards. Beau Wallace had 131 of them, plus two touchdowns, and Leafi Naea had 83 yards and a touchdown.

Another key was receiver Jason Parrott, who caught only two passes for 50 yards but lined up several times at quarterback and rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown.

Parrott’s 27-yard scoring burst in the third quarter was the game’s key play. It came after Vaqueros quarterback Jared Flint threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jake Savona to cut the lead to 17-14.

Irvine would not challenge again, especially after a fumble put Santa Ana Valley on the Vaqueros’ 16-yard line. Wallace scored on a three-yard run.

The Falcons’ defense was strong as well. Although Flint passed for 129 yards and a touchdown, he had two passes intercepted and was sacked twice. Santa Ana Valley held Irvine to 49 yards rushing.

“These are great kids who got no respect,” Falcons Coach Scott Orloff said. “All week they had to hear how Irvine was going to play Servite next, how it could be an all-Sea View League final. All we could do was believe in ourselves. I think our kids showed what they can do.”

On paper, at least, the game seemed defined in simple terms. Santa Ana Valley’s offensive success had come through power running and occasional passes, a system Orloff said he and the staff got away from too quickly in last week’s loss to Canyon.

“We might have panicked,” Orloff said. “We ran only 24 times and passed more than 30. We should run closer to 40 times, and not throw more than 15.”

Irvine Coach Terry Henigan was concerned Santa Ana Valley could do just that.

“All week I was wondering if we could stay with them,” Henigan said. “They are very physical, where we’re more a finesse team.”

From the opening kickoff, the strategy was perfect, as the Falcons took a 10-point halftime lead. The running game was so effective that Santa Ana Valley quarterback Ricky Chavez did not throw a pass until 5:45 remained in the second quarter. He finished the game four of nine for 70 yards.