Irvine football squad eliminated by Hemet 38-17 in quarterfinals of CIF Division 11 playoffs

Lorenzo Bazzani of Irvine picks up yards in Friday’s playoff game. (Photos courtesy James Tomlin)

Irvine’s football team notched one CIF playoff victory last week but the Vaqueros could not come up with another one, losing to Hemet 38-17 in the quarterfinals of the CIF Division 11 playoffs Friday in Hemet.

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Dany Frukacz had an interception and a touchdown reception in the game, Tyson Matthews had a touchdown and Jacob Sears had some key receptions to extend drives for Irvine, according to Coach Erik Terry.

“Hemet came in with a great game plan and really caused us problems in all three phases of the game,” Terry said.  “I believe we were two evenly matched teams coming in but they definitely executed better. Our staff is proud of the four quarter effort of our team.”

Terry said he was proud of his squad, which finished 5-7.

“The thing that impressed me most about our team this season was their resiliency,” he said. ” We challenged them with a very difficult non-league schedule and we definitely took our lumps early.

“Once we got to Pacific Coast League play there was a new sense of confidence and we feel like we competed week in and week out.  After dropping the final game of the season to Northwood we bounced back and the victory over Ocean View in the first round of the playoffs was a signature team win.

“We look at those two extra weeks we played as opportunities to create more lasting memories for this group of seniors. They will be missed.”