IRVINE — It took 95 minutes this season for Portola to finally find the end zone, but when it finally happened, it was worth a victory.
Timothy Grettenberg scored on a 4-yard run with 2 minutes 54 seconds remaining as the Bulldogs defeated Irvine, 7-0, in a nonleague game on Friday at Portola High.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was the first time in Grettenberg’s four seasons that Portola beat the Vaqueros. It avenged last year’s 24-19 loss, and it gave the Bulldogs their first pre-league victory since 2023.
It was a step forward after the defending CIF Southern Section Division 11 champions lost, 35-0, to Long Beach Wilson last week, and though the Bulldogs hardly lit up the scoreboard, they rose to the occasion when it mattered.
With the fourth quarter ticking away and staring at a scoreless tie, they drove 67 yards in 10 plays to finally break the scoreless streak and the pre-league aggravation.
Grettenberg carried five times on the winning drive, including the last four. But it was junior Mayan Kim who also played a pivotal role, including carries of 26 and 10 yards in that winning drive.
“Seeing (Kim) compete and get in the game and succeed makes me so happy,” said Grettenberg, who rushed 22 times for 96 yards. “He’s always trying to learn. The way he ran tonight, you can tell he’s going to be great.”
And Grettenberg?
“I believed in myself,” said the senior, who dragged a defender into the end zone. “There was no doubt I was going to score.”
Another key play in the drive was Orion Suttle hooking up with Michael Hood for a 13-yard gain after completing only two of his previous 10 passes for 15 yards.
The end result was all about timing, and Portola made it happen when it counted most behind a line that included Zaid Elshariff, Nohel Abundis, Rylan Mann, and sophomores Ethan Polasek at center and Isaiah Terrazas at right, who drew special praise from coach Peter Abe. Their readiness in this game freed up Reggie Thorn and Hamza Soliman to not have to play both ways. “We put them in, literally, on Monday. They showed up today, I’m very proud of their effort.”
The defense forced six turnovers – three fumbles and three interceptions, including the second of the game by Jamal Abdelkarim that ended Irvine’s futile final drive with 23 seconds remaining at midfield.
“You can’t win football games if you can’t score. and we struggled a little bit tonight,” Irvine coach Tom Ricci said, adding that injuries to the offensive line created a revolving door at the position. “Our defense held them to seven points. That was encouraging. Our defense played tough, physical. We just couldn’t capitalize when we were on offense.”
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