PREP FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS / THE SEMIFINALS : DIVISION IV : Irvine Defense Stuffs Run in Victory Over Foothill

TUSTIN —  As expected, the Division IV final will be an All-Sea View League affair.

Second-seeded Irvine advanced to its second consecutive CIF title game with a 35-14 victory over Foothill Saturday night at Tustin High.

The Vaqueros, who won the Division II championship last year, will meet Newport Harbor on Saturday at a site to be determined. Irvine defeated the Sailors, 28-17, Oct. 24. The teams finished first and second in league.

“We would have liked to have carried the Century League colors into the final,” Foothill Coach Tom Meiss said, “but Irvine is a great team.”

Against Foothill, running back Scott Seal scored three touchdowns and rushed for 142 yards in 30 carries and quarterback Aron Garcia threw two touchdowns to lead Irvine (12-1) to its 11th consecutive victory. Slotback Tony Mathis ran for 86 yards in four carries and caught a touchdown pass.

But it was the Vaqueros’ defense, which shut down the Knights’ ground game, that made the difference.

“The defense was nails,” Irvine Coach Terry Henigan said.

Irvine led, 14-7, at the half before scoring 14 points in the third quarter to pull away. Seal’s five-yard touchdown run capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive that opened the third quarter and gave Irvine a 21-7 lead. Garcia then hit Todd Thomas for a five-yard touchdown pass and a 28-7 lead with 2:31 remaining in the quarter.

Foothill never got untracked offensively. The Knights, who rushed for more than 300 yards in each of their playoff victories over Santa Margarita and Riverside Poly, managed 167 against the Vaqueros, much of it coming when the game already was decided. Irvine finished with 345 yards total offense, 249 coming on the ground.

The Knights, who had a five-game winning streak snapped, finish 8-5.

Irv-Seal 1 run (Bilek kick)

FH-Taub 14 run (Vlcek kick)

Irv-Mathis 10 pass from Garcia (Bilek kick)

Irv-Seal 5 run (Bilek kick)

Irv-Thomas 5 pass from Garcia (Bile kick)

FH-Wielandt 1 run (Vlcek kick)

Irv-Seal 1 run (Bilek kick)

LEADING RUSHERS-I: Seal 30-142; F: Taub 15-61; LEADING PASSERS-Garcia 8-16-1, 96; F: Wielandt 6-11-1, 62; LEADING RECEIVERS-I: Thomas 3-49; F: Bower 4-35. Attendance: 2,900.