Vaqueros Get Push-Start to Title

It was the kind of play that, a couple of years from now, will cause Irvine fans to wear out the rewind button on their VCRs.

Newport Harbor fans might opt for the eject button.

With the Vaqueros’ Southern Section Division VI championship game Friday against the Sailors scoreless in the second quarter, Irvine receiver Eric Patton turned a spectacular catch into a 77-yard touchdown that propelled the Vaqueros to a 14-0 victory and their first title since 1993.

Problem was, the play was laced with controversy. Patton appeared to push off Newport Harbor defensive back Ryan Spruth to make the catch, which put Irvine ahead, 7-0, with 5 minutes 45 seconds left in the half and changed the complexion of a tight game.

Make no mistake, the Vaqueros were the dominant team. But their first score gave them a little breathing room--and raised the ire of Newport Harbor Coach Jeff Brinkley.

“The guy pushed off,” said Brinkley, who had a clear view of the play and sprinted down the sideline to make his case with the officials. “It certainly changed a lot early on.”

Patton pleaded innocent. “We both pushed off,” he said. “That’s what happens on a play like that. I saw the ball, I went up for it and spun around. The guy fell off me, I got the ball and saw the end zone. Then I just ran.”

Patton made the catch at the Sailor 37, outmaneuvered defensive back David Sprenger and raced into the end zone.

“That was definitely good to get points on the board,” Irvine quarterback Travis Otott said. “We had a good matchup with Eric, I laid it up and luckily he caught it and broke a couple of tackles.”

Said Irvine Coach Terry Henigan: “It put us up 7-0. We had been struggling up until then, so it was nice to get seven.”

After the score, Irvine’s offense turned a bit more conservative as the Vaqueros ran on their last five plays of the first half. Irvine scored its second touchdown early in the third quarter when Otott hit David Doomey in the corner of the end zone with a 15-yard pass.

Henigan declined to get into a debate after the game as to whether his receiver pushed off. “Let’s not get into that,” he said. “The best team won.”

Though he clearly felt wronged, Brinkley agreed with Henigan on that point. “I’m not going to put [the controversial play] on the way the game went because they deserved to win,” he said. “But it doesn’t help when that happens.”

Patton finished with two catches for 92 yards, easily the leading yardage gainer for the Vaqueros, who amassed only 218 yards of total offense. His touchdown catch was the longest of his career.