Tustin Gets a Victory Without Time to Spare

Don’t blame Tustin Coach Marijon Ancich for believing in miracles.

Not after what happened Friday night at Tustin.

With no time remaining, Ancich sent in Jason Lavin, a second-team kicker who usually just handles extra points, to try a game-winning field goal. And Lavin kicked a 37-yarder as Tustin defeated Los Alamitos, 10-7.

“It was a moral victory,” said Ancich, whose Tillers were overrun by El Toro, 34-14, the week before. “Our guys just came back after getting the hell beat out of us and were able to do that. We had to come back and we had to do it right away.”

Lavin was playing only because first-team kicker Matt Alexander pulled a muscle before the game.

But the Tillers (1-1) needed a helping hand to win. As the game’s last seconds ticked away, Tustin quarterback George Menges threw a pass toward the end zone 36 yards away. The pass fell incomplete, but Los Alamitos was penalized for pass interference. Though the time had run out, a game cannot end on a penalty against the defense. The officials then moved the ball to the Los Alamitos 21-yard line and gave the Tillers one play.

The penalty was a sudden turn in luck. Throughout the game the Tillers had been able to move the ball, only to stop a promising drive with penalties. On that last drive alone, the Tillers drove the ball inside the 20-yard line but were hit with three successive penalties.

As Ancich said, “Every time we had something good, something happened.”

In the second quarter, quarterback Menges executed a long, methodical 85-yard touchdown drive of short passes and runs.

The drive was helped by a 21-yard pass from Menges to Marshall Eddy before it could be completed by tailback Lani Machado’s 14-yard run. Machado rushed for 93 yards on 20 carries before being injured in the last moments. Menges completed 12 of 18 passes for 106 yards.

The drive was impressive but Tustin defense saved the Tillers in the first half. The Tillers stopped Griffin tailback Franck Beckton on fourth down at their own two-yard line. It also helped later in that half when Eric Lange missed a 28-yard field goal.

The Griffins, replacing starting sophomore quarterback Todd Gragnano with junior Winston Wolf in the third quarter, put together their lone scoring drive in that period as Marcus Garcia scored on a 1-yard run that capped an 88-yard drive. Garcia gained 106 yards on 20 carries. Gragnano completed 9 of 18 passes for 93 yards.