Portola holds on to defeat Irvine 7-0 behind five forced turnovers and a late TD

Portola players celebrate after an interception Friday night vs. Irvine. (PHOTOS: Jacob Ramos, For OC Sports Zone).

Led by a stifling defense and a late rushing touchdown, Portola’s football team earned a 7-0 crosstown rivalry victory at home against Irvine on Friday night.

The municipal rivalry matchup was a slugfest all night long, with the only score by either side coming by way of a short touchdown run by Portola’s Timothy Grettenberg with just over two minutes to go.

Grettenberg was one half of a formidable Bulldog rushing attack that totaled 162 yards on the ground on Friday. During a night where only 10 passes were completed for 36 yards by Bulldog quarterback Orion Suttle, Grettenberg and fellow halfback Mayan Kim shouldered the offensive load in the Portola victory.

Despite the strong rushing attack, the victory would not have been possible without the relentless Bulldog defense generating five total turnovers on the night. Portola (1-1) picked off three Irvine passes, with none being more crucial than the walk-off interception recorded by Jamal Abdelkarim in the game’s final minute.

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Postgame, Abdelkarim spoke about the overall effort by his team on defense to OC Sports Zone.

“On defense, we’re all hungry. [We] came off a bad loss last week and wanted some revenge,” Abdelkarim said. “We came out, we were physical. Just a great defense, great defense.”

Abdelkarim and his co-receiver Michael Hood led the air attack with Suttle on Friday, generating 10 and 15 yards, respectively. 

Portola’s victorious effort came after a week zero 35-0 defeat at the hands of Long Beach Wilson that Abdelkarim described as a “bad loss.” Postgame, Portola Coach Peter Abe spoke proudly about the week-to-week goals of his program, regardless of early-season outcomes.

“I literally could have cared less, win, lose or draw. We were determined to play Bulldog football tonight,” Abe said. “When you play Bulldog football, it’s either going to be super tight like that at the end … or you’re gonna win the game and roll somebody. Every week it’s about protecting those Bulldog pedigree values and doing the things conducive to winning football games.”

Abe added that two out of his five starting offensive linemen were added to the lineup on Monday of week one after two of his defensive lineups played both sides of the ball against Long Beach Wilson last week. Portola’s offensive line was a massive positive for the team on the night, allowing zero sacks and leading the way for the Bulldog’s 162 yards and score on the ground.

The five-man group was named the team’s “Offensive Player of the Game” by Abe in Portola’s postgame huddle.

Abe referenced the phrase “junkyard football” as a term of endearment for how his team played Friday and how it needs to play moving forward. When asked what the phrase meant, Abe said while pointing at members of his team, “This, watch the tape. That’s what junkyard football means.”

As for Irvine (1-1), it is back to the drawing board after being shut out on the road by its crosstown rival. Not much worked on offense for the Vaqueros, only totaling 112 yards on the night, with 30 coming through its air attack led by Sina Saferzadeh.

Running back Seamus Hoffman and Saferzadeh led the way on the ground, with Hoffman generating 27 yards on 10 carries and Saferzadeh getting a healthy amount of designed quarterback runs for him to get 56 yards of his own. Notably, Hoffman fumbled twice, losing both and giving Portola critical field position.

Despite Hoffman’s pair of fumbles, he added value for the Vaqueros through the air, recording two catches for 12 yards. Hoffman supplemented Irvine’s leading receiver, Yousef Daher, who put up 17 yards on three catches.

All around, it was a night to forget for the Irvine offense, which couldn’t cash in on the three turnovers generated by the Vaquero defense.

Postgame, Irvine Coach Tom Ricci kept his comments concise about the loss.

“I feel like our defense kept us in the game and we couldn’t capitalize on offense. Can’t win games with zero,” Ricci said. “Our [offensive] line’s got to be able to give us time to throw the ball, and our [receivers] have got to shake guys loose.”

Ricci also added that Irvine was “banged up” headed into Friday’s game at Portola.

Irvine will look to get back in the win column with a bout away at University vs. Woodbridge (0-2) in week two while Portola will try and build its first winning streak of 2025 away vs. Cerritos High School (1-1).