Troy football fends off challenge from Irvine in the Iota League ...Middle East

IRVINE – It was so close, Irvine could taste it, touch it, feel it. But they couldn’t keep it.

With seconds ticking away, an upset of Troy disappeared with a late whistle and a high pass into the end zone.

The Iota League delivered drama on Friday as two teams vying for first place went to the wire. But it was Troy that navigated the tightrope in a 21-20 victory at Irvine High.

The win by Troy (8-1 overall, 4-0 in league) sets up a winner-take-all meeting next week against El Toro (6-3, 4-0) for the league title. Irvine dropped to 6-3, 2-2.

“We needed a game that really challenged us, and these guys did,” Troy coach Michael Echaves said. “They play us so tough. They’re a really good football team.”

Troy took a 21-14 lead with 6:11 remaining after a 13-play, 70-yard drive that leaned heavily on Ethan Mundt, who finished with 26 carries for 184 yards and touchdowns of 52, 1, and, lastly, 12 yards.

Did Irvine have anything left? Absolutely.

The Vaqueros responded with a 68-yard march, using 15 plays before quarterback Sina Saferzadeh scored from a yard with 46 seconds to go.

Refusing to settle for a tie that would earn them nothing, Irvine went for two points. The Vaqueros got off a snap and a lob pass to Cole Reidel alone in the end zone.

But referees – whose whistles clearly came after the snap, though the intention may have come before it – instead awarded a timeout to Troy, which negated the winning score.

The second time, Irvine would not be so lucky. Saferzadeh’s hard pass to Reidel sailed high. Catchable, but high. It went past Reidel as Troy players exhaled – and leaped in celebration.

It wasn’t the only time Irvine was disappointed in the end zone.

In the final seconds of the first half, with Troy at the Vaqueros 20, Saferzadeh – playing defense – intercepted a pass and returned it 83 yards for a touchdown and a potential 21-14 lead with two seconds left. But Irvine was whistled for an illegal block, which negated the score.

Irvine was that close to pulling the upset.

“Plays like that decide games and determine fates, the calls you get here and there,” Echaves said. “We’re just glad it went our way.”

Both teams opened the game on fire. Troy went 65 yards in five plays – the last 52 on a big run by Mundt – to take a 7-0 lead just over two minutes into the game.

Irvine answered in two plays, its tying score coming via a 46-yard pass from Saferzadeh to Enzo Cahoon with 8:49 left in the quarter.

Troy answered again, driving 67 yards on eight plays with Mundt scoring from one yard at 4:59

Irvine answered midway through the second quarter with Saferzadeh’s six-yard run.

Saferzadeh rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns, and passed for 140 with another score. Troy’s Mason Mays completed 11 of 15 passes for 135 yards with an interception.

“Overall, it was a good team win,” Mundt said. “Our O-line played good, running backs played strong, fought hard, and our defense bent but didn’t break to save the game.”

And save their championship hopes.

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