Irvine clicks offensively in win over Beckman
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October 15, 2009 10:42 PM
By BRENT SHAVER
SPECIAL TO OCVARSITY.COM
IRVINE - Irvine had everything working offensively in the first half against Beckman on Thursday night.

The Vaqueros scored touchdowns on four possessions in a row on the way to the winning the Pacific Coast League opener, 28-3, at Irvine High.

Freshman standout DaVonte Young had 160 yards rushing and three touchdowns for Irvine (4-2, 1-0).

Senior quarterback Allen Merritt missed connecting on his first pass of the game, but he completed his next nine in a row while throwing for 97 yards and one touchdown.

His touchdown pass was the play of the night. Robert Seaney tipped the ball at the goal line over Beckman defenders to a wide open Jake Day in the back of the end zone for a 35-yard score with no time left in the first half.

The score gave Irvine a 28-0 lead.

Beckman was without Keith Lawson, the No. 4 rusher in the county, who didn't play because of a hamstring injury.

Longtime coach's legacy seen around O.C.
By DAN ALBANO
2009-10-08 17:55:49
IRVINE - The green-and-white record board hanging outside Irvine's football office beams with pride.
Four CIF championship seasons are listed below a heading flanked with stars.
But this is not Terry Henigan's favorite memento. The longtime Irvine coach is most proud of the roll call of coaches displayed in the weight room.
"We now have hit 80 ex-players who have coached here for us," he said recently. "We're kind of a family."
Yes, it's the relationships and not the victories that Henigan is savoring most as he navigates his 29th and final season as the head of the Vaqueros' household.
On Friday, the 65-year-old will reunite with some of his extended family when Irvine (3-1) plays Cypress (3-1) at Western High at 7 p.m.
Henigan's first head coaching position was at Cypress. The school was just a few years old when he took the reins in 1976. He guided the Centurions for four seasons and was an assistant in 1980.
In an added twist Friday, Henigan will face one of his former Cypress players in Ray Fenton, now the Centurions' coach.
While Henigan has been low-key about his upcoming retirement, he will get some extra attention from Cypress. The school will honor its ex-coach in a pregame ceremony. The football program also picked Irvine as its homecoming opponent because of Henigan.
"We're just saying thanks," Fenton said.

WHERE IT STARTED

The ceremony will be fitting because it was at Cypress where Henigan began his legacy of mentoring coaches.
After serving as an assistant at Western for seven seasons, he inherited a coaching staff at Cypress that would go on to major success.
His top offensive coach was a young John Barnes, who at Los Alamitos has become the county's all-time leader in coaching victories.
Barnes said Henigan had a "huge" impact on his career.
"He showed up at Cypress and made it so much fun," Barnes said. "He gave me an attitude that it could be fun and positive."
Henigan's staff also included future Cypress coach Geoff DeLapp, who went on to become an assistant at UCLA and Hawaii.
"It was a special time," Henigan said of Cypress.

SOUGHT CHANGE

Despite all his affection for Cypress, Henigan and his wife, Francine, were ready for a change following the 1979 season.
Henigan resigned as the head coach to take an assistant coach position in Roseburg, Ore. The reason for the move had nothing to do with football.
The father of two boys, Henigan wanted his sons, Mark, and Michael, to grow up in a small-town atmosphere.
"I wanted my boys to grow up like I grew up," he said.
Henigan was raised in DeKalb, Ill., about 60 miles west of Chicago. He played football at DeKalb High and at Northern Illinois University, which also is in DeKalb. He later followed his older brother, Mike, to California.
But Henigan's move to the Pacific Northwest never materialized because of cutbacks at the school. He returned to Cypress for one season before applying for the opening at relatively new Irvine.
"Things happen for a reason," Henigan said. "This has been fun at Irvine."
It took Henigan about a decade to get the Vaqueros rolling, but when they took flight in the 1990s, they were hard to catch. Irvine won three consecutive outright CIF titles from 1991-93, a feat that hasn't been matched by a county school.
Irvine won its fourth CIF title in 2000.
"They're a classy group (at Irvine)," said Newport Harbor coach Jeff Brinkley, who faced Henigan in three CIF finals.

BLOSSOMING TREE

Henigan keeps track of his coaching tree.
Four of his former assistants at Irvine are head coaches in Orange County. There's Jim Burton at Troy, Rick Curtis at Northwood, Marcello Giuliano at Pacifica and Mike Maceranka at Segerstrom.
Henigan also has worked with former head coaches John Selbe and Lance Neal.
Fenton said Henigan's influence pushed him to become a coach.
"I think his passion is infectious," Fenton said.
If Henigan gets his wish, current assistant and offensive coordinator Erik Terry will be his latest protégé to become a head coach and lead the Vaqueros' family in 2010.
Henigan feels comfortable with his decision to retire. He and his wife are planning to relocate to Indio.
"It's time," he said.
But Henigan's passion for coaching remains. He calls coaching the best hours of his day. He is quick to give credit to his mentor, former Western coach Jim Everett.
And he continues to focuses on the process as much as the result.
Henigan ranks fifth in county history with 215 career victories, but one of his favorite sayings doesn't mention Friday nights.
"We want everyone to have fun Saturday through Thursday," he said. "If that means that Friday nights aren't fun, that's OK.
"I've had some years when Friday nights were fun and Saturday through Thursday were horrible. It is not all about Friday."