Orange County Prep Football : Tustin Renews Its Rivalry With Foothill

Show Marijon Ancich, Tustin High School football coach, a silver lining and he will point out that a very dark cloud lies inside. Give him $1 million, and he’ll complain about the taxes he’ll have to pay. Tell him that Tustin, for the first time in a long time, is favored in a game against Foothill and he’ll claim ignorance . . . on the part of those who favor Tustin.

“Favored? You’ve got to be kidding,” Ancich said. “Foothill always has great athletes. They have an all-senior line and (Johnny) Mountain running wild.”

Mountain, a junior running back, rushed for 248 yards to lead Foothill (2-1) to a 13-7 victory over Marina last week. Mountain has rushed for 550 yards this season and carries the brunt of the Knights’ offensive load.

“I looked at the films,” Ancich said. “Mountain looked like an adult running over kids.”

Still, the fact remains that the Tillers, defending Sea View League co-champions, seem to be the stronger team this season. Quarterback George Menges has completed 63% of his passes. His favorite target is wide receiver Scott Pulaski, who has caught 11 passes for 129 yards.

The game is one of Orange County’s top rivalries. The schools have been playing one another since 1966 with Foothill leading the series 14-4-2.

Last season, Tustin (2-1) defeated Foothill, 21-6. It was the first time Tustin had beaten Foothill since 1972, when the Tillers won, 8-7, on a two-point conversion pass with 30 seconds left.

How big a rivalry?

After Tustin’s victory last season, there was talk of a general school holiday at Tustin the next day. Alayne Campbell, an economics teacher at Tustin since 1960 said: “I almost retired this year, but now I’m so glad I didn’t.”

Asked if that was the most significant victory in three seasons at Tustin, Ancich said: “Oh, definitely. It gave our whole program credibility.”

It didn’t take long for Jerry Howell, Foothill’s first-year coach, to learn about the rivalry.

“When I interviewed for the job, I heard about it,” he said. “When I went out to practice the first day, I said our first goal is to beat Tustin.”

Adding fuel is the fact that many of the seniors on both teams played together on a Junior All-American football team that went 14-0 five years ago. When the students reached high school, Foothill got most of the linemen, including Frank Busalacchi (6-6, 250) and Mike Shepard (6-2, 210), and Tustin inherited quarterback Menges and running back Lani Machado.

“Our seniors don’t want to lose,” Howell said. “This is a very intense rivalry. It’s been neighbor against neighbor for four years. They know each other well, they’re close friends, some of them even date the others’ sisters.”

Now that’s a rivalry.

A look at other key games:

Pacifica (1-1-1) vs. Los Amigos (1-2) at Garden Grove High School--In the 1987 season’s first league game, Pacifica returns--after six seasons in the Empire League--to the Garden Grove League that it dominated in the 1970s. Back then, the Mariners were known as a defensive powerhouse and, if their first three games are any indication, defense will once again be critical to the team’s success. In those three games, Pacifica scored only 19 points but limited opponents to 13. Los Amigos, which finished third in league play last season, had its problems on offense during last week’s 18-7 loss to Estancia, when the Lobos were limited to 74 yards rushing.

El Toro (3-0) vs. El Modena (1-2) at Fred Kelly Stadium--El Toro suffered another blow last week, losing Chris McCarthy, its top wide receiver, to a back injury. Coupled with the loss of Bret Johnson--still sidelined with damaged knee ligaments--the offense-oriented Chargers are forced to rely even more on their defense, which was outstanding in last week’s 10-3 victory over Villa Park. El Modena has been shut out in its last two games, losing, 31-0, to Esperanza two weeks ago and last week to Pacifica, 6-0.

Marina (0-3) vs. Los Alamitos (2-1) at Gahr High School--This season, Los Alamitos has been on the fun end of two runaways, last week’s 42-0 victory over Gahr and a 30-0 opening win against Kennedy. But it lost, 10-7, to Tustin two weeks ago. The key to success seems to be sophomore quarterback Todd Gragnano, who passed for more than 100 yards in both victories (11 of 17 for 109 yards and two touchdowns against Gahr). Gragnano, second in county quarterback ratings, likes to throw to receiver Jon Cisneros, second among county receivers with 17 catches for 259 yards. Marina is starting off on the same foot as last season, when it lost all five nonleague games but won the Sunset League title. This year, the Vikings haven’t exhibited much offense but have a strong defense. Two weeks ago, they stopped Servite three times inside the 5-yard line in a 6-0 loss. Last week, Eric Crocker returned a blocked punt for Marina’s only touchdown in a 13-7 loss to Foothill.

Canyon (2-1) vs. Sunny Hills (3-0) at Spaulding Field--Sunny Hills quarterback David Chisum is currently atop the Orange County quarterback ratings. Chisum, a senior, has completed 33 of 50 passes for 526 yards. He has passed for seven touchdowns, including three in last week’s 35-10 victory over Cypress, without throwing an interception. Last week, Canyon’s offense came from fullback Dale LaRue, who replaced injured Eddie Washington (hip pointer). In the Cowboys’ 14-7 victory over Loara, LaRue rushed for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns.

In other games:

Fullerton vs. El Dorado at Bradford Stadium; Brea-Olinda vs. Sonora at La Habra Stadium; Valencia vs. Troy at Fullerton District Stadium; Cypress vs. Anaheim at Glover Stadium; Mayfair vs. Magnolia at Handel Stadium; Woodbridge vs. Corona del Mar at Davidson Field; and Laguna Hills vs. University at Irvine High School.