Irvine pulls off late trick play for dramatic come-from-behind victory over Troy

Brandon “Figgy” Figueroa led Irvine to a victory Friday night. (Photo: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Irvine High School’s football team pulled off a flea-flicker in the fourth quarter Friday night to defeat Troy 43-42 at Fullerton for the Vaqueros third win of the season out of the gate.

“What a great high school football game to watch,” said Coach Tom Ricci. “It went back-and-forth. Great plays on both sides. Troy is very well coached and they run the Wing-T to perfection.  I’ve got to give coach (Michael) Echaves and his staff props.

“We always know we are in for a game when we play them. The bright spot for us was that our boys didn’t give up. Down two touchdowns, they still felt like they could win.”

On the flea flicker, Brandon Figueroa took the handoff, flipped the ball to Braden Garlock, who flipped it back to quarterback Khoa Bui, who tossed the game-winner to Figueroa with 2:20 left, Ricci said.

Figueroa led Irvine, rushing for 28 times for 229 yards and three touchdowns. He also hauled in one receiving TD. Bui completed 11 of 22 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns.

Deacon Moss was Irvine’s leading receiver with six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Figueroa and Joshua Gutierrez each had two catches for Irvine (3-0).

“Figgy was a beast,” Ricci said of Figueroa. “He just refused to be stopped. Katrell May jump started us in the fourth. Besides doing a great job at defensive tackle, he went in at fullback and was crushing people.  It was a heck of a fun game to watch, let alone be a part of.”

Send football news to timburt@ocsportszone.com