Little BIG Man

There was no question in Irvine Coach Terry Henigan’s mind that he could get by this season with Mike Ricci at quarterback.

He never doubted Ricci’s skills or his leadership. But there was one thing about Ricci that couldn’t be coached.

His height.

Ricci is listed as 5 feet 8 inches in the school’s program. In actuality, he is 5-6 1/2.

And, of course, everyone knows a small guy can’t play quarterback, Doug Flutie aside.

But Ricci seems to have that intangible “winner” quality. Beginning his freshman season, Ricci’s teams have gone 9-2, 8-2 and 9-0-1. This year, with Ricci as the varsity starter, Irvine is 8-2-1 and in the second round of the Southern Section Division VI playoffs. The Vaqueros play top-seeded Lakewood Mayfair tonight at Bellflower High, and a victory would make every Vaquero stand tall.

“On every level, we’ve said, ‘He can’t play,’ ” Henigan said. “And [his teams] keep winning. We’ve won at every level with him. Our staff and players have a lot of confidence in Mike.

“He’s been a quarterback all his life. No one has worked harder and been better trained; that’s all he does.”

His father, Tom Ricci, is a quarterback coach who, among others, coached Kevin Daft while he was at Foothill. Daft (UC Davis) was a fifth-round draft choice by the NFL’s Tennessee Titans this year. Ricci also coached at tiny Bethany College, as well as at Irvine. He isn’t coaching this season so he can watch his son play.

Among the things he has seen:

* Mike Ricci completed 15 of 20 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown in a 33-6 first-round victory over Santa Ana Valley.

* After falling behind with 41 seconds left, Ricci threw a 30-yard touchdown pass, his third, to Eric Patton with 13 seconds left that gave Irvine a 29-25 victory over Newbury Park.

* Ricci completed 15 of 18 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-20 victory over Aliso Niguel.

Ricci has completed 63.4% of his passes, with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. He ended the regular season as the county’s fifth-ranked passer.

“So far, he’s answered all his critics, for his sake and for our sake,” Henigan said. “I think that [short quarterback] stuff is a myth. If I said he was 6 feet, he would be OK? A 6-0 guy can’t see over a 6-5 guy either. What’s the difference? A well-coached quarterback nowadays, with people coming after you, has to learn to sidestep the rush and find the passing lane; he does that very well.”

By now, it’s second nature to Ricci, who hopes to attend a small college, preferably in the East.

“I’ve been dealing with it my whole life,” Ricci said. “It started in elementary school. Dad always told me, ‘It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.’ I’ve lived my life that way. When someone says, ‘You’re too small, try another position,’ I never really thought, ‘Maybe I am too small.’ ”

Irvine, which has long been known for its tall, strong-armed quarterbacks, like Jared Flint and Mike Phelps, did make a few adjustments. There are more sprint-outs, more play action. “Mike is a great ballhandler,” offensive coordinator Erik Terry said. “Anything we do with the run fake has been outstanding.”

Ricci hit a lull in midseason when his best friend (and best receiver) James Whitted suffered a knee injury and missed 3 1/2 games. But Whitted’s return coincided with running back Keith Short, a transfer from Calvary Chapel, getting more comfortable with the offense.

In the five games since Whitted’s return, Irvine has averaged 28.6 points with Ricci completing 73% of his passes for 751 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. In the six previous games, Irvine averaged 18.2 points.

Whitted, despite the missed games, has 42 catches and eight touchdown receptions. His 12 career touchdown catches are a school record.

“My completion percentage is way higher than I thought it would be,” Ricci said, “but I’ve got great receivers.”

He also has a great knack for getting up after getting knocked down. Terry says Ricci took two vicious shots from Mater Dei linebacker Tyler Kruse, and bounced right up.

“His No. 1 quality is his toughness,” Henigan said. “If guys were to look at our video and see how many times he’s hung in the pocket and taken a hit as he releases the ball, they’d be amazed. He’s a tough little dude.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

IRVINE VS. LAKEWOOD MAYFAIR

Featured Game

When: 7:30 tonight.

Where: Bellflower High.

Records: Mayfair 11-0; Irvine 8-2-1.

Rankings: Mayfair, No. 1 in Southern Section Division VI, is seeded No. 1 in the playoffs; Irvine, ranked No. 6 in the division, is unseeded.

Noteworthy: Irvine, which won division titles from 1991 to 1993, has losses to Mater Dei, seeded No. 2 in Division I, and Newport Harbor, seeded No. 2 in Division IV. The loss to Newport Harbor was 12-10, and Irvine has won five in a row since. Running back Keith Short is averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Mayfair, the defending Division IV champion, won the Suburban League title for the first time since 1980 by beating La Mirada, the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Mayfair’s Michael Williams has scored 45 touchdowns, 37 rushing; he has gained 1,912 yards.

Follow the Leader

Irvine is 4-1 in games in which Mike Ricci, above, passes for more yardage than the opposing quarterback. Ricci’s game-by-game record:

*--*

Opp Opponent Att Cp Yds TD Int W/L Score Pass University 22 14 109 0 2 W 17-7 85 Saddleback 9 6 117 2 0 W 33-0 56 South Torrance 25 14 169 2 0 T 13-13 285 Mater Dei 13 4 70 1 1 L 35-14 107 Loara 11 5 51 0 0 W 22-13 203 Newport Harbor 6 4 83 0 0 L 12-10 46 Aliso Niguel 18 15 216 3 0 W 35-20 144 Newbury Park 18 12 192 3 1 W 29-25 260 Laguna Hills 11 7 68 0 2 W 16-14 126 Woodbridge 11 8 96 1 0 W 30-7 56 Santa Ana Valley 20 15 179 1 0 W 33-6 221

*--*