Paik Rushes for 125 Yards to Lead Irvine Past Anaheim

IRVINE —  Running back Sam Paik rushed for 125 yards and one touchdown to lead Irvine past Anaheim, 17-14, in a nonleague game Thursday night at Irvine High School.

Paik was playing for the injured Al Williams, who fractured his knee during practice last week.

But Paik must have made Williams proud, carrying Irvine’s offense in the second half and finishing with 31 carries.

Paik actually didn’t start the game and struggled when he touched the ball in the first half.

He fumbled on the three-yard line to kill an Irvine drive late in the second quarter.

But Paik, a junior, redeemed himself in the second half.

His two-yard touchdown run with 7 minutes 23 seconds left in the third quarter gave Irvine a 10-7 lead. The Vaqueros never trailed again.

Paik’s run capped a 16-play drive that took 5:23 to complete. He carried the ball 13 times on the drive, including twice on fourth-down conversions.

“Sam was our practice player of the week this week,” Irvine Coach Terry Henigan said. “He plays hard.”

After being held to 48 yards of total offense in the first half, the Colonists stepped it up.

On Anaheim’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, it went 65 yards and scored on a five-yard run by Fred Cortez to take a 7-3 lead.