Tustin to Get a Head Start by Playing Host to Kapaa High

Tustin High School begins its football season a week earlier than most Orange County teams when it plays host to Kapaa High of Hawaii tonight at 8 p.m. at Northrup Field, but the Tillers should be no less prepared than other teams on opening night.

“We’re as ready as you can get,” second-year Tustin Coach Marijon Ancich said. “You can only do so much.”

Ancich, it seems, can never do enough. For two weeks of two-a-day drills, Ancich and his assistants worked every day, from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. To cut down on driving time, Ancich, who lives in Whittier, spent the two-week period at a $25-a-night motel in Tustin.

Asked if he even made it home on weekends, Ancich replied, “Well . . . my wife came down to visit.”

Tonight, he’ll see if all the work has paid off. It did last year, when Ancich helped turn a 1-9 team into a 6-4 playoff contender. The Tillers finished fourth in the Century League and gained the respect of many coaches.

“You’ll never play a better-prepared team than Tustin,” El Modena Coach Bob Lester said. “He had us so well-scouted last year that he knew what we were going to do before we did.”

Tustin, which returns only six starters, graduated three skilled players in quarterback Pat Hegarty (1,365 yards passing), fullback Darren Webster (1,091 yards and 12 touchdowns) and tight end Kirby Piazza (22 receptions for 305 yards).

Sophomore George Menges is the new quarterback, while the backfield will consist of sophomore Lani Machado and junior Tim Hollinger. Senior Miguel Alcazar and junior Steve Dahlberg are the wide receivers, with Dave Patstone (6-5, 210) taking over at tight end.

Kapaa, which is located on the island of Kauai, is coming off an 0-6 season, but the Warriors opened last week with a 31-20 victory over Lanai High.