Vaqueros Were Scary Good Despite Henigan’s Misgivings

Terry Henigan, scared? Well, maybe not exactly. But how about extremely cautious? Henigan, the football coach at Irvine, revealed last week that he has never looked forward to playing Tustin, the team the Vaqueros dominated in a Southern Section Division VI semifinal Friday. Henigan has turned down previous opportunities to play Tustin.

“Myron’s asked and I’ve said no,” Henigan said of Tustin’s coach, Myron Miller. “They’re too good, too physical, too big. They beat you up. Even if you win, you lose. Play them in a nonleague game maybe a week or two before playing Newport Harbor? No thank you. They’re too good at what they do.

“That’s why they played three Catholic schools. Most of us in Division VI can’t do that. It’s a pretty physical brand of football.”

But Irvine didn’t seem to be out of its element against the Tillers on Friday. The Vaqueros were just as physical in their 23-6 victory.

And now, the thing Henigan had hoped to avoid during the regular season is happening in the biggest game of all. One week after playing Tustin, his Vaqueros play Newport Harbor for the section title.

It’s a rematch of last year’s championship game, a 19-18 victory by Newport Harbor. The Sailors also won the regular-season Sea View League meeting, 12-10.

This season, the teams met in the first week of league play--the sixth week of the season--and Irvine won, 19-14.

Irvine is trying to win its first title since it won three in a row from 1991 to 1993.

The Sailors are in the final for the fifth time in nine years. For Irvine, it’s five in 10 years.

A NEW LOOK

Newport Harbor’s Garrett Troncale forced a fumble in the fourth quarter of last year’s championship game, and Andy Kalanz ran it in for a touchdown from four yards in the Sailors’ victory.

Troncale said he was treated differently afterward by his teachers.

“I got a lot more respect from them,” Troncale said. “They didn’t really look at me as a football player before that.”

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Jim Kunau faces a tall order as he prepares Orange Lutheran to play powerful Ventura St. Bonaventure Saturday in the Division XI championship, but he won’t be as nervous as one might expect.

Kunau has coached in big games before. The Lancers have played in 21 playoff games over the last seven seasons, advancing to the title game in 1994 and ’95. Lutheran lost both games, but the experience should serve Kunau well in his preparation this week.

“We’re better coaches than we were those first few years,” Kunau said at Monday’s Southern Section football banquet that honored the championship teams. “I think I pushed [the assistant coaches] a little too hard. Now we understand the preparation and the mind-set that’s necessary.”

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Staff writer Ben Bolch contributed to this story.